Morocco has made some positive progress towards democratic reform. The 2011 protests brought about a new constitution and an elected parliament with an Islamist head of government, Abdelilah Benkirane. This is significant both because Benkirane’s mainstream Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (PJD), had been squarely in the opposition prior to 2011, and because the PJD is the only Islamist party that was voted into power after the Arab Spring and that remains there. 

Last month Morocco held its first regional and municipal elections under a new decentralization process. The idea on paper is to devolve power from the central government to local governments. This would both alleviate the burden on the central government and provide a more direct link between the people and government, much like I just discussed in the case of Tunisia. But, like much of Morocco’s reform process, in reality the decentralization effort does not shift any real power to the local government, as the provincial governors (Walis), who are appointed by the king, retain ultimate veto power over the regional councils. 

I am skeptical of Morocco’s chances of achieving real reform for several reasons. First, the 2011 constitution did not initiate real change. Most of the power remains in hands of the king or the Makhzen (ruling inner circle). Additionally, four years later, many of the organic laws that make up the constitution remain unimplemented, with no clear plans to move forward on implementation. Thus, while the constitution is an impressive document on paper, it is not reflected in the Moroccan political reality. 

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2015/10/22-political-reform-maghreb-yerkes