Address of Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami Upon His Re-election to the Speakership of the House of Representatives

15/04/2024

Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 2021-2026 Legislative Term. The election took place during a plenary sitting on Friday, April 12, 2024, where Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami obtained 264 out of the 324 cast votes. On this occasion, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami gave the following address:
 
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, and peace and prayer be upon the Messenger of Allah and His honorable kith and kin
 
Honorable colleagues, 
Ladies and gentlemen, 
I am pleased to thank you for renewing the trust you vested in my humble person by re-electing me Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second half of the 11th Legislative Term. I hope to live up to the level of this responsibility and this trust, and that we pursue together working for this country and its aspirations under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him, who leads Morocco with wisdom and prudence towards broader horizons of economic and social progress and prosperity, thus entrenching a Moroccan civilizational renaissance that is open to the world and based on a constitutional, democratic, and social Monarchy deep-rooted in history.
I also wish to reiterate the same conviction I have always embodied: I am the Speaker of the House of Representatives with all its components of the Opposition and Majority. I will always act on this basis according to the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the House. Thus, I wish to thank everyone, including those who voted for me and those who had a different opinion that I fully respect.
It is once again a regular democratic exercise in the State of institutions and partisan pluralism where the Opposition and the Majority play roles, however different and conflicted, remain decisive in democracy. In Morocco, we are proud of the progressive and liberal tenor of our Constitution, which granted the parliamentary Opposition a key position in the institutional order out of keenness to preserve balance and guarantee rights for all.
Honorable colleagues, 
In the second half of the 11th Legislative Term, there await us many challenges we must contribute to addressing by joining our efforts from our position and in accordance with our constitutional and institutional competences. We also have several missions to accomplish with the necessary professionalism so that the institution can contribute to the dynamics of reform and development.
To this end, we will work together to capitalize on our achievements in the fields of legislation, Government action control in its various aspects, public policy evaluation, as well as other functions, such as our work on the parliamentary diplomacy front, knowing that we have accumulated achievements, expertise, working methods, and deep-rooted Moroccan institutional traditions that we must develop and entrench.
In this respect, we must evoke and recall the tenor of the Message addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, to the participants in the National Symposium, held on January 17, 2024, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the first elected Moroccan Parliament, where His Majesty stressed, "Parliamentary work and the democratic nature of our representative institutions have significantly grown in maturity, whether with regard to prerogatives, practice, openness to civil society, organization and management of parliamentary work, or partnerships with other national parliaments."
His Majesty's speech should motivate us to redouble our efforts to develop our action further.
His Majesty added, "Notwithstanding the accomplishments made, greater efforts are still needed to achieve the institutional, representative democracy we want for our country, and which would honor it."
We must, therefore, remain keen to promote dialogue amongst ourselves, improve productivity and efficiency, interact with society's expectations, and consecrate the institution as a space for difference and conflict management, proposal, and persuasion.
Honorable colleagues, 
I am not going to anticipate the legislative agenda for the rest of the legislative term, but it will certainly be a rich one that would require us to mobilize collectively to win the challenge of the reforms sponsored by His Majesty, including the revision of the Family Code, who magnitude, peculiarity, and the solicitude granted to it by His Majesty, the Commander of the Faithful, we all appreciate.
Whether it concerns this text or other texts and matters of a societal nature and dimension, things in Morocco are managed within the framework of social, political, and institutional consensus and in strict compliance with the Constitution.
Morocco's contemporary history confirms that significant reforms have always been achieved within the framework of this consensus and based on dialogue, persuasion, and the prevalence of our country's supreme interests.
As regards addressing external challenges and winning the stakes of development and reform, I do not think we disagree because it's not a question of polarization between the Majority and Opposition, since everyone contributes to achieving them and as long as they require the civic and patriotic impetus of which we are proud in Morocco because it is part of the genes of Moroccan politics. The benefits that flow from this cannot be reduced to the material or the developmental aspect but go beyond that to the reinforcement of institutions and democracy, which gives development its spirit and dimensions of rights and politics.
As concerns the exercise of the House's competence to control and evaluate public policies, it should focus on the cost-effectiveness and follow-up of what has been agreed on between the Legislative and the Executive and the pledges made in the field of public policies because the primary and most important objective is for citizens to feel the impact of these policies and the effect of public spending.
You are also aware, honorable colleagues, of the international context marked by accelerating geopolitical and economic changes and their consequences on all countries, and on the establishment of international axes and alliances.
This context requires us, more than ever, to mobilize behind His Majesty, may Allah assist him, to continue defending our rights and legitimate causes, particularly our territorial integrity.
We must remain mobilized within the framework of multilateral parliamentary organizations and in our relations with other Parliaments around the world to defend the interests of our country on the basis of vigilance and proactivity, armed with the legitimacy of our causes, foremost among which is the question of our territorial integrity, and bearing in mind the doctrine of national diplomacy as led and sponsored by His Majesty the King, may Allah assist him.
Ladies and gentlemen, 
In this connection, I refer again to the Royal Message on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the constitution of the first elected Parliament as His Majesty underscored “the need to take parliamentary work to a new level and prioritize the higher interests of the nation and the citizens over narrow partisan considerations. Ethical standards in parliamentary life must also be improved by adopting a binding code of ethics in both Houses.” This matter will top the House’s agenda during the legislative Session we inaugurate today, ensuring that a code with clear and binding provisions is enacted.
Therefore, we must recall these Royal directives and make the 60th anniversary of the constitution of the first elected Moroccan Parliament a starting point for giving fresh impetus to our institutional exercise and improving the image of the institution among citizens in order to strengthen confidence in institutions and involve everyone in construction.
I wish you a happy Eid Al-Fitr, imploring the Almighty to grant His Majesty, the Commander of the Faithful, abundant health and well-being and long life so that he can continue leading our country towards further greatness and glory.
Thank you for your keen listening.”