John sent me this (I cite with his permission): "Interesting comment from the fellow who drove 340 km.
Even more interesting is the fact the he made his judgment almost exclusively by driving through rural Northern Morocco, which is heavily Berber, and has a long tradition of alienation from the government. I'm
not surprised that they didn't vote. And if they did, I suspect that it would have been under duress and close supervision by the local Qaid's gendarmes. The other thing that struck me was that the vote was held on Friday, which is pretty much an ordinary business day in Morocco. Sunday is the day off, when the big protests are held. If you wanted to suppress the vote, you would hold it on Friday, since most working folks can't get time off to cast a ballot. Of course, few in the outside world would doubt the legitimacy of an election held on Friday, because most assume that Friday is the religious day off, like "the rest of the Arab world.""
Even more interesting is the fact the he made his judgment almost exclusively by driving through rural Northern Morocco, which is heavily Berber, and has a long tradition of alienation from the government. I'm
not surprised that they didn't vote. And if they did, I suspect that it would have been under duress and close supervision by the local Qaid's gendarmes. The other thing that struck me was that the vote was held on Friday, which is pretty much an ordinary business day in Morocco. Sunday is the day off, when the big protests are held. If you wanted to suppress the vote, you would hold it on Friday, since most working folks can't get time off to cast a ballot. Of course, few in the outside world would doubt the legitimacy of an election held on Friday, because most assume that Friday is the religious day off, like "the rest of the Arab world.""
