Moroccan general election, 1963

Parliamentary elections were held for the first time in Morocco on 17 May 1963. They followed the approval of a constitution in a referendum the previous year. The result was a victory for the pro-Monarchy Front for the Defence of Constitutional Institutions (FDIC), which won 69 seats. However, the two main opposition parties, the Istiqlal Party and the National Union of Popular Forces, won exactly the same number of seats.^[1] Voter turnout was 71.8%.^[2] However, in November the Supreme Court annulled the results of several seats won by the opposition. By-elections held in January 1964 gave the FDIC control of Parliament,^[3] which was eventually dissolved by King Hassan II in 1965.

Indirect elections to the House of Councillors were held on 12 October, with the FDIC winning 102 of the 120 seats.^[4]

Electoral system

The 120 members of the House of Councillors were elected by three electoral colleges; members of provincial and prefectural assemblies elected 80 members, professional bodies elected 35 members (of which industrial workers elected 14, farmers elected 16 and craftsmen elected 5) and business councils elected five.^[4]

Results

House of Representatives

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Front for the Defence of Constitutional Institutions	1,159,932	34.8	69
Istiqlal Party	1,000,506	30.0	41
National Union of Popular Forces	751,056	22.5	28
Moroccan Communist Party	2,345	0.1	0
Independents	421,479	12.6	6
Invalid/blank votes	113,221	−	−
Total	3,448,539	100	144
Registered voters/turnout	4,803,654	71.8	−
Source: Nohlen et al.

House of Councillors

Party	Assembly members			Industrial workers			Farmers			Craftspeople			Business councils			Total
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Front for the Defence of Constitutional Institutions			74			9			16			3			0			102
Istiqlal Party			3			4			0			2			0			9
General Union of Moroccan Workers			0			0			0			0			3			3
Others			0			0			0			0			2			2
Independents			3			1			0			0			0			4
Invalid/blank votes	376	−	−	20	−	−	30	−	−	20	−	−	209	−	−	655	−	−
Total	9,901	100	80	259	100	14	236	100	16	204	100	5	1,554	100	5	12,154	100	120
Registered voters/turnout	11,610	85.5	−	281	92.2	−	312	75.6	−	225	90.7	−	3,188	48.7	−	15,616	77.8	−
Source: Sternberger et al.

References

1. Maghraoui, AM Democratization in the Arab World?: Depoliticization in Morocco Journal of Democracy, Volume 13, Number 4 October 2002
2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p634 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
3. Ketterer, JP From one chamber to two: The case of Morocco Journal of Legislative Studies, Spring 2001, vol. 7, no. 1, pp.135-150
4. Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, p1315