Parliament of Morocco
Encyclopedia
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, the capital of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Composition
Since 1996, the national legislatureLegislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
has become bicameral and has therefore two parliamentary chambers:
- The Assembly of RepresentativesAssembly of Representatives of MoroccoThe Moroccan Parliament has two chambers. The Assembly of Representatives has 325 members elected for a five year term, 295 elected in multi-seat constituencies and 30 in national lists consisting only of women. The other chamber is the Assembly of Councillors.-See also:* Assembly of Councillors*...
or the lower houseLower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
(Majlis an-nuwwab). 325 members elected directly for a five-year term. - The Assembly of CouncillorsAssembly of CouncillorsThe Assembly of Councillors is the upper house of the Parliament of Morocco and has 270 members, elected for a nine year term, elected by local councils , professional chambers and wage-earners ....
(Majlis al moustasharin). It is elected indirectly for a nine-year term by two sets of electoral colleges.
The Members of Parliament come from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and the Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
(under Moroccan law treated as the Southern Provinces
Southern Provinces
The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by Morocco for Western Sahara, in reference to the part of Western Sahara that lies to the west of the Moroccan Berm...
).
Reserve powerReserve powerIn a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the...
Part of the reserve powerReserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the...
s, the head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
(in this case the King of Morocco) has the right to dissolve the Parliament. In the past, during the "years of lead
Years of Lead (Morocco)
The Years of Lead is the term used especially by former opponents to the rule of King Hassan II of Morocco to describe a period of his rule marked by state violence against dissidents and democracy activists.-Timeframe:...
" under King Hassan II, this right was used extensively, along with suspensions and extensions of terms. Thus, until 1997, not a single elected Parliament was able to complete its term under normal circumstances.http://www.majliss-annouwab.ma/english/secretary-general.html
Role
The role of Parliament, and the respect of the monarchyMonarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
for its integrity, has increased considerably since 1999, when Mohammed VI took the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
. However, the power of Parliament is still being limited as it is the King who appoints the prime minister and on proposition from the latter, the members of government.
See also
- Elections in MoroccoElections in MoroccoElections in Morocco are held on a national level for the legislature. Parliament has two chambers. The Assembly of Representatives of Morocco has 325 members elected for a five year term, 295 elected in multi-seat constituencies and 30 in national lists consisting only of women...
- List of political parties in Morocco
- Politics of MoroccoPolitics of MoroccoPolitics of Morocco take place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
External links
- Parliament Website - in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...