At stake in this Referendum:

• A referendum to approve a new constitution.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King MOHAMED VI
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Abbas EL FASSI
• Assembly: Morocco has a bicameral Parliament (Barlaman) consisting of the Chamber of Counselors (Majlis al-Mustacharin) with 270 seats* and the Chamber of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwab) with 325 seats**.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is the hereditary head of state.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the Chamber of Counselors (Majlis al-Mustacharin) 270 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 9-year terms*. In the Chamber of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwab), 295 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 30 members are reserved for women to serve 5-year terms.**

* Members are elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates. One-third of the members are renewed every three years.

** 295 members are elected in 95 multi-seat constituencies. The thirty reserved seats are from a national list of women.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• A provision to approve a new constitution.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 32,531,964 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 13,451,404 (July 2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 16,512,813 (2011)

·         Is Morocco a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Morocco ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (21 June 1993)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 34 (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 126 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Morocco a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Morocco ratified CRPD: Yes (8 April 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 4,879,794 (est.)