The
Parliament of Morocco is located in
RabatRabat , population 2 million , is the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region....
, the capital of
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
.
Composition
Since 1996, the national
legislatureA legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law...
has become bicameral and has therefore two parliamentary chambers:
- The Assembly of Representatives
The 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 houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its theoretical 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 Councillors
The 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 ....
or the Senate (Majlis al moustasharin). It is elected indirectly for a nine-year term by two sets of electoral colleges.
The Members of Parliament come from
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
and the Moroccan-held parts of
Western SaharaWestern Sahara is a territory of 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 consisting of...
(under Moroccan law treated as the
Southern ProvincesThe Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the Moroccan names for Western Sahara in reference to the provinces of Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra. Following the Madrid Accords with Spain in 1975, Morocco took control of Saguia el-Hamra, and the northern part of Rio de Oro, while Mauritania took...
).
Reserve 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 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...
s, the
head of StateHead of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state...
(in this case the King of Morocco) has the right to dissolve the Parliament. In the past, during the "
years of leadYears of Lead may refer to:*The Brazilian military dictatorship , from 1964 to 1985*Years of lead , terrorism later 1960s-later 80s*Years of Lead , 1970s-80s...
" 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
monarchyThe person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. A Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or...
for its integrity, has increased considerably since 1999, when Mohammed VI took the
throneA 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 terms such as "the power behind the throne".-Thrones in ancient...
. 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 Morocco
Elections 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 Morocco
Politics 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 English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...