Changes to Legislative Law Allow Dual Roles for Large City Leaders
The recent amendment to the regulatory law concerning the House of Representatives has relieved several leaders of large municipalities from having to choose between their roles as heads of local councils and their membership in the legislative body. This significant change came about after lawmakers abolished the incompatibility clause that previously prevented individuals from holding both positions in municipalities with populations exceeding 300,000 residents.
This modification became particularly evident following the legislative elections held on September 23, during which Nabila Rmili, the mayor of Casablanca, and Fatima Zahra Mansouri, the mayor of Marrakech, were elected as members of the House of Representatives without losing their leadership roles in their respective municipalities.
The essence of this change lies in the amendment made under regulatory law number 53.25, which discarded the provision that deemed membership in the House of Representatives incompatible with serving as the head of a municipal council in cities with populations over 300,000. Previously, the law stipulated that membership in the House of Representatives was incompatible with serving as the head of a regional council, a council of labor, or a council of any municipality that surpassed the population threshold, thus affecting several major cities.
Under the new rules, the election of Rmili and Mansouri to the House of Representatives does not force them to choose between their parliamentary seats and their continued presidency of the Casablanca and Marrakech councils. Their situation exemplifies a broader trend among leaders of large municipalities with a district system, which includes cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, Tangier, and Agadir.
This legislative modification reopens the door for leaders of large municipalities to simultaneously manage local responsibilities and serve in parliament, following a previous legal framework that restricted such dual roles in cities with populations exceeding the legally defined limit.
Interior Minister Abdel-Wafi Laftit defended this amendment during detailed discussions of electoral laws, arguing against the expansion of incompatibility cases to include the combination of local council leadership and parliamentary membership. He emphasized that having local council leaders within the legislative body enriches discussions on issues related to local governance.
In his response to parliamentary requests to broaden the incompatibility cases, Laftit explained that the provision introduced in 2021 came at a specific time when both local and legislative elections coincided. He noted that the experience revealed the importance of having council leaders involved in legislative discussions tied to the competencies of the Ministry of Interior and local governance issues.
The Interior Minister further asserted that the previous experience highlighted the vital role council leaders played in discussing various draft laws, stating that the amendment made in 2021 did not yield substantial benefits that warranted its continuation. He cautioned that expanding incompatibility cases could create a disconnect between parliament and local governance.
In this context, Laftit advocated for leaving the decision of combining responsibilities to the discretion of political parties and elected officials, rather than imposing a blanket legislative prohibition. He argued that it is inappropriate for mayors of major cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier to be absent from the parliamentary discussions, given their direct knowledge of the issues facing the cities they manage.
As reported by febrayer.com.
