Symposium Commemorating 60th Anniversary of Morocco’s First Elected Parliament Kicks off in Rabat
The Symposium commemorating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the 1st elected Parliament in Morocco kicked off on Wednesday in Rabat. The opening session of the symposium was marked by a message addressed by His Majesty the King to the participants, read out by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami. At this major event, participants will focus on two main themes: “The constitutional evolution of the structure and functions of parliament” and “The pillars, challenges and prospects of parliamentary action”. The first session will be devoted to the Moroccan bicameral system and the relationship between the legislative and executive powers, as well as the evaluation of public policies, while the second session will focus on the relationship between parliament and democratic practice, the “open parliament” and the challenges of parliamentary action. In parallel with the Symposium, the Parliament with its two houses organizes an exhibition of photos and documents in partnership with the Moroccan Archives. This exhibition recounts the milestones of parliamentary action that have accompanied Morocco’s institutional, democratic and societal development, “from the creation of the National Consultative Council in 1956, as the nucleus of this legislative institution, on the initiative of the late HM Mohammed V, through the promulgation of the country’s first Fundamental Law, to the holding of elections that gave rise to the first bicameral Parliament, composed of the House of Representatives and the House of Advisors in 1963, under the reign of the late HM Hassan II, and the introduction of far-reaching reforms and comprehensive, multidimensional development, initiated under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him”. On this occasion, a tribute will be paid to former MPs Badia Skalli and Latifa Bennani Smires, the first two women to sit in the Moroccan Parliament in the 90s.