Low voter turnout and Moroccan olive prices
As I just said over at Global Voices, Moroccan bloggers have little to say about the actual election results, preferring to talk about the low voter turnout (estimated to be between 37 and 41%) instead. So I’ll do the same, briefly - basically, that’s not bad for a country with so little democracy, if we’re talking in comparison to the U.S., say. What’s the percentage of voters there? Anyone know? Take a guess (preferably without looking it up!)
In other news, I bought a jar of “Moroccan pitted olives” at Trader Joe’s today for $1.99. I daresay they’re actually cheaper there than at Frenchy Label ‘Vie.
September 10th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
But there’s not just the elections to talk about in Morocco, you know. Elections began only 60 years ago.
September 14th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
…but is that not 37% of REGISTERED voters?
September 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Yes, that’s as true as Heaven and Hell. But, you know, friend, even Mr Othmani explained the low turnout by the advent of Ramadan, the return to school, the end of the holidays, etc. So there’s been too much to talk about besides the elections, don’t you think? Now few non-politisized people are still talking about the elections. Even after a World Football Cup or an Olympics Games event, people are quick to forget the subject and move on to something else. Find more on my blog, if you have the time. Many thanks and 3wacherkom mabrouka.
September 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
50% of registered voters is considered the norm for American Presidential elections, though the Congressionsal elections every two years have lower turnout…so Morocco isn’t that abnormal by comparison. Then again, some European countries manage consistently high (70%) turnout regularly, so perhaps the US isn’t really the benchmark you should be aiming for.