International seminar in Rabat to share good practices on independent and impartial election observation

The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) holds on Thursday, November 12, 2015, an international seminar in Rabat to capitalize on the previous independent and impartial election observation experiences and share lessons and good practices.

The participants will exchange and share their good practices and experiences in election observation and the evaluation of training and support programs for observers. They will also discuss the different approaches and challenges of the impartial and independent election observation.

This international gathering will also discuss the legislative framework governing elections in Morocco and advocate for more initiatives and joint actions by the different stockholders, following their respective prerogatives.

Representatives of national and international organizations accredited by the Special Commission for the Accreditation of Election Observers will take part in this seminar, which will address three main points: 'training of observers and the implementation of a new training strategy', 'election observation: scope and limits of approaches', and 'legal framework governing elections in Morocco: comprehensive analysis and proposals for improvement'.

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, CNDH will hold a national workshop on its own election observation experience. CNDH’s regional human rights commissions will share the outcome of the regional workshops they held in October to assess the 2015 election observation. During these workshops, the regional commissions evaluated the process following a set of criteria: the mobilization and deployment of observers, women representation, strategic choices, training of observers, use of electronic tools, and to what extent the competent authorities facilitated the role of election observers. These workshops also analyzed the results of the elections.

For the 2015 election observation, the Special Commission for the Accreditation of Election Observers accredited 41 organizations, including 34 Moroccan associations, the National Human Rights Council, and six international NGOs. These organizations deployed more than 4000 observers, including 76 international observers, to monitor the local and regional elections and the elections of the House of Councillors (campaigns and election dates). CNDH also invited other international experts and organizations and national human rights institutions to monitor and observe the 2015 elections.