The Committee on the Interior, Local Authorities, Housing, Urban Policy, and Administrative Affairs in the House of Representatives has approved, by majority vote, two major organic bills relating to political parties and electoral lists. The vote took place on Friday in the presence of the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit. The first text, Organic Bill 53.25 concerning the House of Representatives, was adopted with 19 votes in favor, one vote against, and four abstentions. Organic Bill 54.25, which revises and updates Organic Law 29.11 on political parties, as well as Bill 55.25, which amends Law 57.11 governing general electoral lists, referendum procedures, and the use of public audiovisual media during electoral and referendum campaigns, were also passed. Both received 19 votes in favor, while five deputies abstained. Parliamentary groups and independent MPs submitted a total of 144 amendments to various articles across the two bills. The PJD group introduced 46 amendments, the Socialist Opposition Ittihadi group put forward 34, the Progress and Socialism Party group submitted 13, the Haraki group proposed 11, and the majority groups added 8. Independent MP Fatima Tamni presented 32 amendments. These proposed changes aim to ease the conditions for establishing political parties, strengthen their financial structures, and regulate the membership of certain professional categories. They also introduce transitional measures delaying the application of new provisions concerning the status of cadres and officials from the Ministry of the Interior who belong to political parties. On the issue of the maximum annual private donation to political parties—currently capped at 800,000 dirhams under Article 31—opinions varied. Some parliamentary groups advocated raising the limit to one million dirhams, while others recommended lowering it to 500,000 dirhams to reduce the risk of financial influence over political parties. The Minister of the Interior expressed openness to discussing an increase in the overall donation ceiling, provided that parliamentary groups can reach a consensus.
