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Morocco's Parliament Goes 'On the Record'
FrontLines - November 2009
By Karima Rhanem
Morocco's Parliament has made it possible for all Moroccans to read the latest transcripts of debates in the legislature on its website: no longer will journalists, civic groups, and the members of parliament themselves have to wait up to three years for the public record of debates.
"Today, the number of daily visits to the parliament Web site exceeds 20,000, while it barely reached 5,000 before the installation of the transcription system. This is mainly due to the publication of the public records," said Aziz Mouhib, the head of the communications department in the Lower House.
The legislature had fallen three years behind in producing and publishing transcripts because it relied on a labor-intensive process of recording sessions and transcribing them by hand before typing and publishing them.
Internal regulations required that sessions be transcribed and published in chronological order.
USAID's Parliament Support Project, implemented by the State University of New York, solved the problem by engaging a local firm to transcribe and proofread 25,000 pages of recorded parliamentary sessions in two months.
By bringing the historical record up-to-date, the stage was set for parliament to begin using new electronic transcription equipment provided by USAID to record and transcribe sessions in real time.
The system began recording in 2006 with a speech by Moroccan King Mohammed VI that formally started the new parliamentary session.
This achievement supports the development of Morocco's democratic culture and the role of parliament in fostering citizen participation in national political life.
Staff from USAID's office in Morocco contributed to this article.
★
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