Moroccan civil society leaders are raising the alarm about the low level of political engagement among young people.
Even as talk of the 2015 communal elections tops parliamentary debates, a new poll shows that the election is of little interest to young Moroccans.
To get a handle on what drives the apathy, academics and analysts met last Saturday in Casablanca for a forum supported by the UN Fund for Democracy (FNUD).
Results from a recent poll of young voters were presented at the October 18th event, which was organised by the Moroccan Centre for Civic Education (CMEC) and the National Institute for Youth and Democracy (INJD).
“The survey reveals that young Moroccans are still not involved in politics,” Professor Rokia Achmal told the forum.
“They have little faith in the ruling elite, which they believe takes little interest in them,” she added.
According to sociologist Noureddine Zahi, the poll and other diagnostic studies suggest that next year’s elections will not see increased participation by young voters and women.
“Moroccan public policy continues to underestimate young people, because it has yet to activate a business model capable of keeping pace with the demands of young people,” he said.
Young Moroccans are still low on the agendas of local elites, forum participant Khadija Sebbar noted.
“Yes, the constitution has been reformed, but the reality in the management of local affairs doesn’t encourage young people to get involved in politics,” she said.
The speakers all agreed on the importance of implementing institutional and party policies that can attract young people and encourage them to engage with politics.
But civil society groups seeking to boost youth interest also need to contend with post-Arab Spring disillusionment, young activist Abdelali Bounser pointed out.
“Apart from a new constitution, young people weren’t able to take advantage of the Arab Spring, which was supposed to restore meaning to politics and lead to greater involvement of young people in politics,” he said.
According to Bounser and other speakers, many young people distance themselves from political matters for fear of being exploited for electoral purposes.
Another issue is young peoples’ lack of knowledge about political engagement.
“Young Moroccans have a lot of things to offer, but they still don’t know how to go about joining a political party,” young architect Yassine Al Amine told forum attendees.
These issues are urgent because young Moroccans represent the country’s future, said Khalid Jahdi of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) youth wing.
Young people are now making their opinions known in non-traditional ways, he said. Indeed, official numbers indicate that some 25,000 youths are involved in civil society but just 1% of young Moroccans are active within a political party.
“They do not need political organisations to express their political views, but through civil society, music and social networks, they are trying to distinguish themselves politically,” Jahdi told Magharebia.
