Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal (as of January 2003)
Executive branch:
chief of state: King MOHAMED VI (since 23 July 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Driss JETTOU (since 9 October
2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed
by the monarch following legislative elections
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Chamber of
Counselors (270 seats; members elected indirectly by local councils,
professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year
terms; one-third of the members are renewed every three years) and a
lower house or Chamber of Representatives (325 seats; members
elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Counselors - last held 15 September 2000 (next
to be held NA 2003); Chamber of Representatives - last held 27
September 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: Chamber of Counselors - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA; Chamber of Representatives - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - USFP 50, PI 48, PJD 42, RNI
41, MP 27, MNP 18, UC 16, FFD 12, PND 12, PPS 11, UD 10, MDS 7, PSD
6, Al Ahd 5, ADL 4, GSU 3, PML 3, PRD 3, FC 2, PDI 2, PED 2, CNI 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed on the recommendation of the
Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders:
Action Party or PA [Muhammad EL IDRISSI]; Alliance of Liberties or
ADL [Ali BELHAJ]; Annahj Addimocrati or Annahj [Abdellah EL HARIF];
Avant Garde Social Democratic Party or PADS [Ahmed BENJELLOUN];
Citizen Forces or FC [Abderrahman LAHJOUJI]; Citizen's Initiatives
for Development [Mohamed BENHAMOU]; Constitutional Union or UC
[Mohamed ABIED (interim)]; Democratic and Independence Party or PDI
[Abdelwahed MAACH]; Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Mahmoud
ARCHANE]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Aissa OUARDIGHI];
Democratic Union or UD [Bouazza IKKEN]; Environment and Development
Party or PED [Ahmed EL ALAMI]; Front of Democratic Forces or FFD
[Thami EL KHYARI]; Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) or PI [Abbas
El FASSI]; Justice and Development Party (formerly the
Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement) or PJD [Abdelkrim EL
KHATIB]; Moroccan Liberal Party or PML [Mohamed ZIANE]; National
Democratic Party or PND [Abdallah KADIRI]; National Ittihadi
Congress Party or CNI [Abdelmajid BOUZOUBAA]; National Popular
Movement or MNP [Mahjoubi AHERDANE]; National Rally of Independents
or RNI [Ahmed OSMAN]; National Union of Popular Forces or UNFP
[Abdellah IBRAHIM]; Parti Al Ahd or Al Ahd [Najib EL OUAZZANI,
chairman]; Party of Progress and Socialism or PPS [Ismail ALAOUI];
Party of Renewal and Equity or PRE [Chakir ACHABAR]; Party of the
Unified Socialist Left or GSU [Mohamed Ben Said AIT IDDER]; Popular
Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER]; Reform and Development Party or
PRD [Abderrahmane EL KOUHEN]; Social Center Party or PSC [Lahcen
MADIH]; Socialist Union of Popular Forces or USFP [Abderrahman
EL-YOUSSOUFI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI]; General
Union of Moroccan Workers or UGTM [Abderrazzak AFILAL]; Moroccan
Employers Association or CGEM [Hassan CHAMI]; National Labor Union
of Morocco or UNMT [Abdelslam MAATI]; Union of Moroccan Workers or
UMT [Mahjoub BENSEDDIK]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, EBRD, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM,
OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Aziz MEKOUAR
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 265-0161
telephone: [1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982
chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ms. Margaret TUTWILER embassy: 2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat mailing address: PSC 74, Box 021, APO AE 90718 telephone: [212] (37) 76 22 65 FAX: [212] (37) 76 56 61 consulate(s) general: Casablanca
Flag description:
red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as
Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional
color of Islam