Elections

Friday, September 7 Morocco had elections. The Islamist party was expected to have a landslide victory, but the old stand-by - the Independence party won. Of course there is talk of conspiracy, but the election day itself was declared an honest and "transparent" success by observers. Only 39% of Moroccans turned up at the polls, however, and there is a lot of talk about the discouragement of the people. They say that politicians make promises and then only help their inner circle once in power (a situation hardly unique to Morocco!). People often point to the many without electricity and running water in rural areas as evidence the government isn't working. What people do not realize is that it takes years if not generations to put democracy firmly in place.

Then there are the many who openly say that elections don't really matter since King Mohammad VI makes all the final decisions anyway. He appoints the Prime Minister and all the cabinet and sits in on their meetings. Only the House of Representatives is voted in directly by the people. This, apparently is a constitutional monarchy. The king also appoints judges, is the head of the army and the "Leader of the Faithful" meaning he is religious leader over the country as well since he is a descendant of their prophet Mohammad.

This all works quite well because thankfully, King Mohammad VI is considered to be a benevolent and modernizing king who is dearly loved by his people. He has made changes to the rights of Berbers (indigenous people) and for women among other things. There are even rumors he might do something about religious freedom, but as you can guess, he walks a fine line on that one.

King Mohammad VI's pictures are everywhere. There are two enormous ones in our little town alone. Yesterday I was listening to a CD with the song "Amazing Love" on it. I was struck by the line, "Amazing Love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me . . ." in a new way. Here, the word I used to glide mindlessly over - "king" means so much more to me. A king with so much power would never dream of dying for his lowliest of subjects. How much more preposterous is it, then, for the God of the universe to die for us?