Under considerable pressure from the pro-democracy movement that arose back in late February, the Moroccan king over the weekend announced he will soon hold a referendum for political reform, essentially ending his absolute rule. Marina Ottaway sees approval as inevitable and offers a useful primer on the referendum debate:
The impact of the new constitution depends on the way in which it is implemented. As an opposition legislator put it to this author, the constitutional text has potential. In order for it to be realized, the parliament has to adopt the necessary legislation and make sure that it provides maximum space for the political forces. The past performance by the parliament suggests that it is not a foregone conclusion that the parliament will make good use of the potential. Although Morocco has a stronger tradition of political parties than most other Arab countries, the parties suffer from the same problems as the entire political system does: they are top-heavy, internally undemocratic, with little renewal of leadership.
Ahmad Charai believes the approval of the new constitution would mean genuine democracy in the Muslim nation, but Sarah Lazare is skeptical. The February 20 movement has called for a boycott of the referendum because it "does not meet the conditions of a democratic constitution." Jillian Schwedler connects the developments to similar movements in Jordan and Kuwait:
And the monarchs are clearly panicking, as they should be. The Gulf Cooperation Council (of Sunni monarchies) is seeking to expand its membership to the non-Gulf monarchies of Morocco and Jordan (what, no invitation to Yemen, despite its far greater proximity to the Gulf than either Morocco or Jordan?). Jordan has already sent troops to Bahrain to help quell the (Shia) protests there. But more importantly, this week saw back-to-back announcements from Morocco's King Muhammad VI and Jordan’s King Abdullah announcing significant (if limited) expansions of powers to the popularly elected parliaments.
The monarchs – all of them – have gotten the memo, they just need to heed it: everything is on the table, and superficial reforms will no longer suffice. No regime is immune from demand for substantive change, meaningful representation, and greater dignity for the quarter million people in the region. Monarchies, get thee on the right side of history.
The Dish 