A Moroccan Voter’s Guide

Last updated on June 26th, 2022

When traveling in Morocco, it is not unusual to see a wall with a variety of symbols painted within a grid.

Wall in Fes painted with political party symbols used on the ballot in Morocco - ExplorationVacation

Wall in Fes painted with political party symbols used on the ballot in Morocco - ExplorationVacation

While visually interesting, these graphics serve a civic purpose.

Each square in the grid belongs to a specific politic party and each party is identified by a unique symbol. While posters and other printed information may be displayed here, its most basic purpose is to display these symbols as a visual voter’s guide. These symbols enable illiterate voters to identify and cast ballots for the party of their choice. It seems like a necessary accommodation in a country with a literacy rate around 55% (and still lower among women and in rural areas).

I photographed this wall in Fes, but similar walls can be seen in cities and villages across the country.

This is my contribution to Travel Photo Thursday at Nancie’s Budget Traveler’s Sandbox. Head on over and see what she’s posted this week and then follow the links to images from around the world.

More Morocco posts

3 thoughts on “A Moroccan Voter’s Guide”

  1. I loved the fact that they found a way to include the illiterate, but the low literacy rate is really hard to accept. Even with this, voter turnout doesn't seem very high — it wss about 45% in one of the last major elections, which was much higher than usual. But there are a lot of other factors at play besides literacy.

  2. With so many different parties, I'm sure it works equally for literate people as well.
    It's a brilliant way to accommodate all voters. Wonder if they have a high voter participation rate.

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