Legislative Petition System (MO0019)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
 Implementation of the constitutional and legislative provisions in
terms of participatory and citizen-based democracy.
 Implementation by the House of Representatives of the
constitutional reforms in order to modernize its action and ensure a
better openness and communication with the citizens.
 The House of Representatives has devoted two chapters of its
bylaws to the pinpointing of the procedures of the practical
implementation of these rights.

What does the commitment consist of?
The commitment amounts to the implementation of a system of petitions and
motions within the House of Representatives.
A committee in charge of the reception and the management of the legislative
petitions and motions of citizens, is set up at the level of the bureau of the
House of Representatives. Within its annual action plan, it intends to
organize meetings/debates at the central and territorial levels with NGOs,
which do supervise the initiatives conducted by the citizens in the fields of
legislative petitions and motions, define the common frameworks of action
and elaborate the awareness raising tools (a practical guide) of the stake of
their actions and the procedures to follow.
What comes at stake at this stage, as well, is the development of the IT
platform for the management of the motions and the petitions. Such an
infrastructure is supposed to guarantee more transparency and fluidity.

How shall the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?
The House of Representatives, by virtue of its stand as a depository of the
legislative authority has fully assumed its role concerning the
implementation of the political and legal framework for the
implementation of such provisions : Two organic laws , which are
respectively related to the terms of the exercise of the right to present
petitions before the public authorities, as well as the conditions of the
exercise of the right to put forward legislative petitions, have entered into
force since 2016.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
Such a new form of democratic exercise which allows citizens, among
others, to present to the public authorities, and to the elected institutions,
legislative petitions and motions, is, doubtlessly, a precondition for the
consolidation and the strengthening of the representative democracy.
It should ensure the accession of the citizens and their implication in
the decision making and legislative process.

19. Implementation of the legislative and constitutional provisions in terms of participatory and citizen-based democracy (Commitments of the Lower House of the Parliament of Morocco) [207]

Substantial:

This commitment relates to commitments 15 and 16 on the online participation platform eparticipation.ma and to awareness-raising and trainings for citizens on participative democracy. Articles 13, 14, and 15 of the Moroccan Constitution grant citizens the right to submit motions and petitions to public authorities. [208] Organic Law 44.14 (2016) establishes the regulatory framework for the right to submit petitions, [209] while Organic Law 64.14 (2016) establishes the regulatory framework for citizens to submit legislative motions. [210] The House aimed to further access to information and public participation by establishing a committee on receiving petitions and motions, drafting a workplan for the committee, organizing meetings with NGOs that monitor and supervise citizen initiatives surrounding legislative petitions and motions, and further developing the awareness-raising tools (a practical guide) for stakeholders and the procedures to follow. [211] The House also aimed for the development of an autonomous IT platform to manage motions and petitions in Parliament. [212] This platform would be separate from the eParticipation website that currently accepts motions and petitions submitted to the government.

Mohammed Doukha, General Councilor in the House, [213] explained that the Petitions Committee [214] was established in the fall of 2019. He added that the House organized two events: a civil society forum on general open government topics and participatory democracy on 23 May 2019; and a seminar entitled “Participatory Democracy: Reality Constraints and Development Prospects” with academia on 25 February 2020. [215] In late July 2021, the House also published a video on legislative procedure, [216] which includes information on petition and motion procedures, as well as videos on the institutional actors [217] and on parliamentary diplomacy. [218] The councilor explained that, due to COVID-19, the House could not further its activity in terms of awareness‑raising events and finalizing the draft citizen guide. Doukha expects that a new platform for motions and petitions to Parliament will be ready by late 2021. He explained that such a platform is needed because of difficulties co-managing the eparticipation.ma platform with the executive branch. According to him, a platform specifically for the House of Representatives reflects the constitution, particularly Article 1 on the separation of powers. In addition, motions are specifically destined for legislators. [219] Ahmed Bernoussi, Secretary General of Transparency Morocco, [220] commented that establishing the right to file petitions and motions is a lengthy process and that the multiplication of platforms could be counterproductive to it.