The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, highlighted Morocco’s commitment to strengthening institutional resilience in Africa.
Speaking at the opening, Tuesday in Rabat, of the 2nd cycle of training for African election observers, which he co-chairs with the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankolé Adeoye, the Minister affirmed that “from words to deeds, our action within the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) since 2022 has focused on highlighting the interdependencies between institutional resilience, stability and prosperity of Africa”.
This 2nd cycle reflects one of the most important aspects of cooperation with the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the AU, Bourita said, noting that since its return to the African Union, Morocco has been working in partnership with Commissioner Bankolé who heads this department, on a number of subjects such as the peace nexus and climate change and this training of election observers.
And to add that this 2nd training cycle also coincides with Africa Day which will be celebrated in two days.
“We are in the process of being part of the priorities of the department and trying to support the actions of this ministry within the framework of a constructive partnership so that Africa, through the AU and this department, can s ‘press on the Member States,’ he said.
“This desire emanates from the Very High Guidelines given by King Mohammed VI, to contribute with all Africans who so wish to the emergence of an Africa which takes charge of its own electoral processes and, for this, acquires solid and credible institutional capacities to validate them,” said the Minister, who was also pleased “to see the number of participants this year, which is almost double the previous year, which means that this exercise proved to be relevant also for the participants and for the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security”.
“This 2nd cycle is taking place in a rather particular African context, first of all the context of multiple crises that Africa, like the rest of the world, is facing, security, health, political and economic crisis”, said he specified.
The said cycle is also taking place in an election year par excellence in Africa with at least 16 elections taking place during this year, he noted, adding that “elections and good governance in Africa are sometimes positive, sometimes ambiguous, significant and some progress is being made in some countries, while questions are also observed in other countries”.
Morocco has constantly warned about the governance/security nexus, said the minister, noting that “there is no better way to ‘silence the guns’ than to let democracy speak through free elections. . This is the ‘tipping point’ towards a sustainable and robust program of governance”.
There is no shadow of a doubt on the principled adherence of all African States, without exception, to the universal values of democracy and good governance, he pointed out.
“Political responsibility does not stop at values, but begins with them: to better implement them”, noted the minister, explaining that this has led Morocco to carry out several initiatives aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of the AU, but also of its Member States.
“If the axiom of the AU is – rightly – to prevent ‘unconstitutional changes’, then each Member State must create the conditions for this, in its own internal order – political, constitutional and legal. Only then can principles and values have strength internally and authority internationally,” he continued.
Morocco’s commitment has given just as much room to capacity building mechanisms and processes in the area of good governance and more particularly in the areas of elections, Bourita said, stressing that the organization of this cycle is “the concrete demonstration of Morocco’s commitment”.
In addition, Nasser Bourita presented, during his speech, the electoral process of the Kingdom, which for decades has chosen to build a model of democratic and modern society, based on the rule of law, the participation of all citizens in political life, the separation of powers, the decentralization of power and the establishment of mechanisms of control and good governance.
The Kingdom of Morocco is hosting the second training cycle for African election observers from May 23 to 26, an important step in the consolidation of the Morocco-African Union partnership in the field of support for political governance in Africa.
Following the success of its first edition, this 2nd cycle is also marked by an increase in the number of beneficiaries, rising from 32 to 61, including 41 observers from the five regions of the continent to which will be added 10 young Moroccan observers.