The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CPLR) of the Council of Europe, convened on Tuesday in Strasbourg, has decided to grant Morocco the status of «Partner for Local Democracy». This decision was adopted by an overwhelming majority (140 votes in favor, one against and two abstentions) at the 36th Session of the Congress held under the annual theme «Mayors for the safeguarding of democracy», in the presence of a high-level Moroccan delegation composed of local and regional elected officials as well as representatives of the Directorate general of Local Authorities (DGCL) of the Interior ministry, and the Moroccan Consulate general in Strasbourg. Under the resolution voted with immediate effect, the Moroccan delegation is allocated 6 seats as representatives and 6 seats as substitutes in the CPLR, a pan-European political assembly representing the local and regional authorities of the 47 Council of Europe member States and comprising more than 200,000 local and regional authorities. The status of «Partner for Local Democracy» was created by the Congress in October 2014 as a specific status for the Council of Europe's neighboring countries, in order to «offer the countries concerned, at their request, a privileged framework for dialogue and regular institutional contacts with their European counterparts». Morocco is the first country on the southern shore of the Mediterranean to have applied for membership of this pan-European body, reflecting its irreversible commitment to the development of local democracy and the consolidation of the decentralized structure based on its institutional and cultural specificities.
