Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and call for new elections. International and domestic observers judged the 2011 parliamentary elections credible and relatively free from irregularities. The Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) won a plurality of seats in the 2011 elections. As mandated by the constitution, the king chose the PJD to lead the governing coalition. The most significant continuing human rights problems were the lack of citizens' right to change the constitutional provisions establishing the country's monarchical form of government, corruption in all branches of government, and widespread disregard for the rule of law by security forces. Authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over security forces. On multiple occasions security forces committed human rights abuses. A variety of sources reported other human rights problems. These included police use of excessive force to quell peaceful protests, resulting in hundreds of injuries, and torture and other abuses by the security forces. Pretrial detention frequently exceeded what the law allowed, accompanied by poor prison and detention conditions. Domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) asserted that there were political prisoners, many of whom were detained under the antiterrorism law. The government abridged civil liberties by infringing on freedom of speech and press, by limiting freedom of assembly and association, and by restricting the right to practice one's religion. The judiciary lacked independence. There was discrimination against women and girls. Authorities made no progress in implementing legislation called for by the 2011 constitutional reforms to advance gender equality and parity. Trafficking in persons and child labor, particularly in the informal sector, continued to occur.
