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Moroccan expatriates ‘should be allowed to vote in elections’

August 3, 2016 at 10:22 am

A Moroccan organisation concerned with expatriate affairs has called on the government in Rabat to allow five million Moroccans living and working overseas to participate in the legislative elections scheduled for October. “Such citizens,” insisted the Haraket Al-Awaseet Lil Jalia movement, “have legitimate aspirations to participate in the next legislative elections.”

The group pointed out that the Moroccan Constitution states explicitly that expatriates enjoy full citizenship rights, including the right to vote and participate in elections. It called on the government to get expatriates involved in all constitutional and governance institutions, as well as the Council of the Moroccan Community Residing Abroad, as stated in Chapter 18 of the Constitution.

In May, Morocco’s Minister for Moroccans Residing Abroad and Migration Affairs, Anis Birou, announced that expatriates will not be able to participate directly in this year’s legislative and communal elections.