By Jamal Elabiad
Are Moroccan youths not interested in politics as a whole or just in Moroccan politics? If yes, why? And what measures should be taken to foster political participation amongst young people? These are examples of the burning questions which the result of a survey conducted in 2006 by L'Economiste, a Moroccan daily in French raised. The survey showed that politics doesn’t appeal to the majority of Moroccan youths (92%).
Reactions to the questions above varied from one political analyst to another, but what most analysts had in common is the fact that “It is not that the youth are not interested in politics, it is that they are not interested in its content and the way it is run” Simply put, Moroccan youths have got tired of politics that invariably puts the wrong people in the wrong places , of elections whose results are known beforehand like a repeated football match on television, and of candidates who take advantage of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment so as to “buy” the maximum number of votes…!
It’s true that without a voting citizenry there is no democracy. But don’t you see that since independence our votes have been like water off a duck’s back? If you are in doubt, just go and see what difference our votes have made to poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and corruption. No difference!
Now let’s see how the Interior ministry reacted to the fact that 92 % of Moroccan youths have no interest in politics and what procedures it followed in order to improve young people's participation in politics in general and in the upcoming legislative elections in particular. By the way, it’s the Interior not the ministry of Justice that takes the responsibility of organizing elections in Morocco!
In addition to the use of the radio and TV channels, the Interior lay behind the appearance of an association called Daba 2007, the role of which was to encourage younger people to vote. The fact that nearly 80 per cent of Moroccans boycotted the 2007 parliamentary elections was viewed as a clear index of the failure of Daba 2007 simply because it disregarded the real whys and wherefores.
It’s beyond doubt that the Interior did mistake why 92% of young Moroccans don’t care about politics. But has such a mistake taught it any lessons ? I don’t think so!
"Nodo Tsawto" or "Go Vote" is the slogan of a campaign launched on Thursday, March26th, 2009 by Hit Radio Station as well as a number of young Moroccan singers, including Mahmoud from Ganga Vibes, Barry, Ahmed Soultan, Sy Mehdi, Saïd Mosker, and DJ Momo. The campaign "doesn’t aim at supporting any particular political trend. Rather, it only aims at encouraging the citizens to exercise their right to vote." said Younis Bumehdi, the Hit Radio manager. What is missing from Bumehdi’s statement is the fact that it’s the Interior that financially supported the campaign!
One of the big questions that I’d like to conclude with and that you might have already asked is, why El makhzen and his proxies want us to vote?
We’re major actors in a play entitled “Moroccan Elections” That’s simply the why for me!