Saturday, July 2, 2011

Morroco Approves Constitutional Reform

The people of Morocco have overwhelmingly voted to support constitutional reforms designed by King Mohammed VI.  Says the BCC: "The reforms grant executive powers to a prime minister, but the king is retained as head of the military, religious authorities and judiciary."  These reforms appear to make Morocco more like other constitutional monarchies, while still retaining a lot of power for their king.  The turn out for the vote was close to 73%.  The constitutional referendum was the first of its kind during the king's twelve years in power.  King Mohammed described the reforms as a "decisive historic transition."  These reforms come in response to the unrest that has been sweeping the region as part of the so-called "Arab Spring."  This movement has toppled the governments of Tunisia and Egypt and is led to ongoing riots in Syria and open rebellion in Libya.

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