The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is delighted that 35 women were among the 325 Moroccan parliamentarians elected on 27 September. Women now account for 10.8% of all MPs in Morocco, primarily due to the introduction of a quota of 30 seats reserved for them (see latest statistics on women in national parliaments).
"The outcome of the election in Morocco is a significant breakthrough that is worthy of note, not only because it dovetails with IPU efforts over many years to integrate women – on an equal footing - at the highest levels of political responsibility in countries, but also because it creates a very important precedent in the region, which must continue to move towards greater participation by women and consolidate its democracies", declared the new President of the IPU Council, Mr. Sergio Paéz (Chile). "I wish to congratulate our Moroccan women colleagues on their remarkable gain. Modern societies will only be more humane and more equitable when all of their subjects are actively involved in the decision-making process", added Mr. Paéz.
The results obtained in Morocco are an encouraging sign in a region where policies are still firmly controlled by men (the average for the Arab-speaking region is 6.1% of women in Parliament, as compared with 13.6% for sub-Saharan Africa and 14.5% at the world level).
The decision to apply a quota reflects the need for a commitment by the authorities to help women enter into politics in an initial phase. A similar will can also be seen in two other countries of the region, where women are not present in parliament. In Bahrain, women will be able to vote and run for election in the legislative elections due to take place this month, following the reforms adopted in 2001. In Djibouti, the authorities intend to see to it that women, who have had the right to vote and stand for election since 1946 but have never been elected to Parliament, finally enter the National Assembly following the elections scheduled for the end of the year.
In the light of this stated political will, it is to be hoped that the peoples concerned will give effect to these steps and that a political awareness of the importance of parity between men and women will emerge in public opinion.
In keeping with its tradition of promoting partnership between men and women in politics, the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union decided, at its session held in Geneva the previous week, to support the amendments to the IPU's Statutes aimed at ensuring more balanced representation of men and women at IPU Conferences. Delegations composed exclusively of parliamentarians of the same sex will be reduced and suffer voting penalties. Moreover, parliaments from countries where women do not have the right to vote or stand for election will no longer be entitled to present candidates to the Executive Committee, the IPU's governing body. These pro-active measures will be ratified at the 108th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, in Santiago de Chile (6-12 April 2003).
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