On Approving The New Constitution

M. CHTAINI

06/21/11

San Francisco  / Morocco Board News--  The referendum will take place on July first.  This day will be a historic day for Morocco. While this is a big battle won by Democracy, the war is not over.  Embarking on the vessel of Democracy will allow Moroccans to reinforce their hope that positive change is going to come. No matter what the critics say about Morocco’s ability to democratize further, the Moroccan spirit to do so is there.  This spirit will be demonstrated by the “Yes” vote by the overwhelming majority of the Moroccans in support of the amended constitution.

• The “Yes” vote is not some concocted formula where votes are going to be bought and sold or slogans of “vote for me and I set you free”. 
• The “Yes” vote is the expression of the will of the Moroccan People, even the hesitant ones to accept to turn the page and move forward to a brighter future where human rights are respected and democratic values are part of the Moroccan polity. 
• The ‘Yes” vote is an expression of gratitude of the Moroccan People to their King for his wisdom to want to share power with them at this critical stage of Morocco’s human, economic, social and political development. 
• The “Yes” vote shows that the Moroccan People appreciate how the door to Morocco’s future has been unlocked by the King and them as his partners.
• The “Yes” vote signifies that the Moroccan People and their King are not going to look back to the past because the future is brighter.
• The “Yes” vote means under the guidance of the King that the haves in Morocco are willing to invest in Morocco to create and provide meaningful jobs to the have nots.
• The “Yes” vote means the King’s encouragement of solidarity among Moroccans from all walks of life to live up to the challenge and give their best so that the Kingdom of Morocco can uplift itself for better days ahead. 
• The “Yes” vote is a holistic response of the Moroccan People and their King in their efforts to build a prosperous, just and peaceful Kingdom whose dignified citizens enjoy all the social amenities such as: Health maintenance systems (preventive and curative), a multi-language educational system second to none, state of the art training programs and institutes and 21st century research institutes and universities. 
• The “Yes” vote will mean a lot to the King and the Moroccan People.
• The “Yes” vote is also sustainable agricultural intensification and modernization which creates revenues for the rural peasants to reduce poverty and bring them and their families into the 21st century.
• The “Yes” vote means the expansion of the highway and transportation systems, the building of new harbors and dams, the development of environmentally friendly wind and solar energy to meet local needs and to export to Europe and elsewhere by the Kingdom of Morocco.
• The “Yes” vote is the promotion and improvement of air, road, sea, and rail systems to facilitate further the movement of people and goods in the Kingdom of Morocco and for products export and import.
• The “Yes” vote means laying the foundation for the building of a Kingdom of Morocco that is modern for the generations to come whereas by 2040 Morocco’s population will reach 70 million people. I let you think and imagine what the “Yes” vote still means beyond what I said it means above.

 
To maintain a challenging vivacity and a strong longevity of the objectives and goals of the “Yes” vote, we need all of us as Moroccan citizens to mobilize in support of our King to use our capacities and intelligence and create further political and economic development generating laws which will make sure that fiscal and monetary policies are economic development driven whereas taxation is fair for all and prices for goods and services affordable.
 
The “Yes” vote will legitimate the newly amended constitution in guaranteeing the balance between the executive, legislative and judiciary branches and will generate laws which enhance the Kingdom’s political, economic and social development within the frame of the three independent branches.
 
As we say in America the “sky is the limit” and it is all up to us as to what we want the Kingdom to be.  Right now the King and the People know what they want and they will vote “Yes” to approve it. Can we switch from the other radars and join together on this radar to explore more ideas as to what the positive “Yes” vote means? I am not against freedom of speech, but if you are going to switch to this radar, kindly give us the best of you through your comments and do it with civility. It would be extremely appreciate it.
 
 
Our common cause is what is good for the Moroccan People.  The King laid the foundation which is the amended constitution. Let us see how far apart we are?  I believe that we are not that far apart in our common cause.  Two prerequisite bring us closer together: First it is undeniable that we all love Morocco. Second we all wish Morocco to uplift itself and get to the 21st century under accelerated and sustainable economic development and in a Democracy which eliminates corruption, nepotism, injustice, poverty, radicalization of Islam and denial of women’s rights. Those who will vote “Yes” believe that all of these desirable attributes of the Moroccan Democracy sought after can happen in a positive manner in a synergy of efforts of the Moroccan People and King Mohammed VI in the next 2 decades.  
 
You, the Moroccan People and I know very well that we cannot and will not entrust our future to any one Moroccan or group of Moroccans to lead.  We should judge our King and the Moroccan People since he came to power by what he and they have accomplished in 12 years. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to realize that 12 years is a very short period of time in politics, yet I need not cite the accomplishments in these 12 years. The King and the People within 12 years have accepted to share power together. Think about it!  If we look at the history of major democratic events in the world democracies we discover that what the Moroccans and their King have been able to accomplish in 12 years and during these last 3 months by amending their constitution and opening the door for the sharing of power is unprecedented in the history of the democratic process in Constitutional Monarchies or Democratic Republics.  Although it may look timid to others, what the sharing of power between the King and the People entails took centuries to be accomplished by other democracies. It took women in America more than 2oo years to get the right to vote.  It took African Americans more than 4oo years to get their civil rights.  As you are aware, Black people were not allowed to vote in America because they could not write and read. Am I being told that rural illiterate Moroccans because they do not know how to write and read, they should not vote?  Voting “Yes” for the proposed constitutional amendments bring the Kingdom of Morocco closer in its 12 year history since King Mohammed VI came to power to all the other constitutional monarchies in Europe where it  took hundreds of years for them to get to where they are.
 

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Comments (5)  

 

0 #1 A matter of character — Chbani 2011-06-21 16:08

The last time I was watching some politicians, who were normally nagainst any changes of the constitution, praising the new constitution. I am surprised to see the key players in Morocco who are responsible of 50 years of bad governance. More 60% of Moroccans are illustrates. If one take seriously the meaning of literate the percentage is much higher.By the way Tunisia and Algeria did much better. About 11% of Moroccans left the country looking for jobs. The education system is one of the worst on this earth. The Moroccan universities are places to kill time no output, no funding, no research but a lot of talks.A lot of research labs on the web but these labs are mobile labs namely the bags of the directors. The healthcare system is in a complete sad state. And who is responsible for this mess ? These corrupt politicians who are now completely transformed into democrats. This is like asking Al Capone to change into mother Theresa. Praising this fake or cosmetic changes can only be explained by the lack of critical mind and by ignoring history. Positive changes in any organization comes from changing the leadership. Morocco will be leaded by the same type of people who did already demonstrate their incapacity to run a country.

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0 #2 COMMENT_TITLE_R E On Approving The New Constitution — Chtaini 2011-06-22 03:45

Chtaini said
@Chbani
I am going to react since I am the author of the article you are commenting on. I hope that we will be more civil than in our past comments to one another.
First of all, there is no comparison between Algeria and Tunisia on the one hand and the Kingdom of Morocco on the other. The French have been in Algeria and Tunisia for almost 130 years. I understand the hurt you feel when you say that 60% of the Moroccans are illiterate. The same way I understand what you say about the educational system and what you say about the health system and all the other points you raised.

What we must understand is that constitutions are dynamic not static. They are tools at the hand of the people to think of a future, identify the sources of funding to budget for its realization and legislate laws to make it happen in collaboration with the executive branch. This scenario is what the vote “Yes” means. It is all up to the Moroccan people and who they are going to elect to the parliament to represent them. One quality that we Moroccan have is patience. July first is a week a way. Let us see what is going to happen after the vote. Are Moroccans going to be glad that it is over or are they going to get involved as the King wants them to. As you know “you can take a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink”. I am of the opinion that the Moroccan people are going to use this opportunity to their advantage.

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0 #3 i know , last time i was in morocco with my old man — couscous king 2011-06-22 10:59

i was watching some of the parliement debate about some thing , you know what most of them were half a sleep or they didn't know what the subject was all about and these are the poeple that you trust to run the moroccan future, c'mon now , no wonder why morocco always take two steps bakward before going forward, see the core issue is that we're lacking the right educated and bright brains like MR CHTAINI FOR EXAMPLE in the govt to guide morocco to a bright future, change is coming it's just a question of when.

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0 #4 A Contract with History, is what the Constitution represents. — CJB 2011-06-22 23:56

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The New Constitution, once passed, will be a contract between the Moroccan nation, King and Citizen, and history, that Democracy is the way of our future.

As the Prophet said:
أمركم شورى بينكم. Your governance is a matter of consultation among yourselves.

Our votes our future our king our lives and our MOROCCO.
يا ربي تحمي المملكة المغربية من الحساد
خمسة و خميس عليك يا بلادي الحبيبة

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0 #5 Vote YES, dont waste the nopes — Al Ghallab 2011-06-28 09:22

Listen to your Moroccan heart and don't listen to these foreign tongues.
They're intent on misleading you and/or they themselves are mislead.

How is a giant forward in Democracy not deserving of a big YES?

عاش المغرب الوطن الحبيب

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