A dozen polling stations for the French in Morocco

It is an exceptional election at all levels. In a context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, more than 48.7 million French voters are being called to the polls on April 10 for the first round of the presidential elections, to choose one of the 12 candidates who will be brought to power. Even people with Covid-19 were allowed to go to the polling station. At noon, turnout in the first round reached 25.48%, compared to 28.54% in 2017 and 28.29% in 2012.

The twelve presidential candidates almost all voted before noon this Sunday, April 10 for this first round, with the exception of Emmanuel Macron, French President, who was late in going to the polls this morning. Accompanied by his wife, Emmanuel Macron left his private residence in Touquet to vote in front of a crowd that cheered him on.

On the Moroccan side, the approximately 53,800 French people established in the Kingdom and recorded in the registers of their consulates will also have been able to fulfill their civic duty this Sunday in the nine cities made available to host this presidential election. French voters in Morocco, who will have to bring their own blue or black pen according to the recommendations of the competent services, have already received either by e-mail or by post a letter of convocation indicating the precise coordinates of their polling station.

In detail, and according to the information collected by MoroccoLatestNews UK12 polling stations were made available to French nationals in Morocco in the cities of Rabat, Tangier and Casablanca, 5 polling stations in Marrakech, while Essaouira, Agadir, Fez and Oujda are on the list of cities that will host open polling stations mobilized through French consulates and representations to welcome voters wishing to exercise their right to vote between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. for this first round, but also for the second round scheduled for April 24.

Preparations have thus taken place to succeed in this election in Morocco, ranging from the French Embassy to the consular representations of the major cities of the Kingdom, in particular Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir, and others. Even French institutes and high schools were mobilized to host this exceptional event, in particular the Marrakech FI which provided three polling stations, the Éric Tabarly French School in Essaouira provided a polling station, while that 12 polling stations will be used in the ballot for the consular district of Casablanca at the Lyautey high school.

Within the polling stations, French voters in Morocco are subject to the health protocol put in place by the consular services to ensure the protection of voters and members of the polling stations.

In this sense, the French consular authorities have provided for the establishment of a water point for washing hands with soap nearby or, failing that, hydroalcoholic gel available.

In addition, polling stations and voting booths are regularly disinfected, a safety distance of 2 meters between people must be respected, barrier gestures are displayed and must be respected, wearing a mask is compulsory, but it can be removed on request of a member of the polling station for the strict necessity of checking the identity of the voter. An obligation, which does not apply to people with disabilities who have a medical certificate justifying this derogation.