The delegation of the Election Network in the Arab Region [ENARA] has made the following observations:

1- The official government authorities have allowed all the 33 participating parties in the elections to benefit from 190 hours of audio-visual media, which were fairly divided among these parties. The government authorities have also allowed the party that was boycotting the elections to express its views by staging a rally in front of parliament building.

2- The election campaign of the various parties were run without any significant violence in the cities of Casablanca and Rabat. The various parties complied with the rules of the election campaign with the exception of some minor excesses.

3- The official government authorities complied with the rules and regulations that regulated the election campaign on the day of polling.

4- The election campaigns were concluded on their fixed dates. The doors of the centers were opened and closed on the day of polling.

5- The polling was held under the supervision of the representatives of political parties and local and international observers.

6- There was poor demand for voting in the centers which the delegation of the ENARA visited. The first rate of participation was announced at 1000 hours in the morning at 5 per cent, the second rate was announced at 1400 hours in the afternoon and reached 16 per cent, and the third rate of participation was announced at 1600 hours in the afternoon and reached 24 per cent. The official government sources which announced these ratios said that the rate of participation reached 37 per cent.

7- The ENARA delegation pointed out that the official government authorities have announced the true rate of participation without any exaggeration, and this was almost compatible with the results reached by the monitoring team of the ENARA.

8- The ENARA monitoring and watch team visited a number of polling centers. Each polling center consisted of several separate halls designated for polling. There were isolating curtain that could guarantee the secrecy of balloting.

9- The ENARA team met with several representatives of political parties and non-government organizations which were watching the elections. The ENARA team also solicited the views of a number of citizens in streets, markets and places of work.


Dated: 8 September 2007.