Interior Minister Abdel Wafi Laftit announced on Wednesday in the House of Representatives a series of conditions that will be included in Organic Law No. 54.25, which aims to amend Organic Law No. 29.11 concerning political parties.
During a meeting of the Committee on Internal Affairs, Territorial Communities, Housing, Urban Policy, and Administrative Affairs, dedicated to presenting proposed laws related to the electoral system, Laftit stated that the bill also aims to enhance the participation of youth and women in the founding process and to clarify aspects related to funding and accounting in order to prepare for the rapid developments in Moroccan society.
In this regard, the minister indicated that the project proposes a new vision regarding the conditions and procedures for establishing political parties. This includes increasing the required number of members necessary to declare the establishment of a political party to twelve members representing all regions of the Kingdom, including at least four women.
He added that, in this same context, the project proposes raising the minimum required number of founding members to at least 2,000, distributed across all regions, noting that the project stipulates that the proportion of both youth aged 35 and under and women must not be less than five of the founding members. This aims to integrate these two groups into national party life from the early stages of party formation.
The minister emphasized that, considering the amendment concerning the increase in the number of founding members to 2,000, and the need for sufficient time to study the founding application by the administration, the project suggests extending the deadline for notifying the relevant government authority of the founding members if the founding application meets the required legal conditions to 45 days, instead of the current 30 days.
He affirmed that the proposed amendments are part of efforts to support representative democracy, enhance the seriousness of political work, and strengthen the credibility of political parties as a mechanism for political mediation. This ensures the establishment of strong political parties that add value, are based on solid organizational foundations, and have reasonable regional representation and genuine community outreach to fulfill their constitutional roles in educating citizens politically and enhancing their engagement in public life.
Laftit also pointed out that the project proposes, within the framework of ensuring the neutrality of the Ministry of the Interior, to broaden the categories of individuals prohibited from establishing or joining a political party to include the ministry’s staff and employees across various bodies.
The project also stipulates enabling political parties to improve their financial resources by increasing the value of donations and bequests they can receive from 600,000 dirhams to 800,000 dirhams per year from each individual donor, while allowing them to establish companies fully owned by them to invest in their activities, provided that their activities are limited to areas related to political party work, such as communication, media, printing, and publishing.
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