What Moroccans Think of US Presidential Candidates

While the eyes of the world are on the American elections, the interest is particularly high in Morocco, especially in regard to the possible foreign policy differences of the candidates

In the latest survey Moroccans showed strong support for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. The survey result suggests that 78% of Moroccans prefer Clinton, whereas Republican candidate Donald Trump garnered only 4% support. Around 5% of respondents said they have no preference and 13% said that they simply didn't know.

The survey was conducted by the Arab Research and Centre for Policy Studies.

Of the Moroccans interviewed, 70% felt that the Democratic candidate will have the most positive impact on US foreign policy in the Arab world, against 13% who think that the election of Donald Trump will benefit the MENA region.

Also, in regard to US foreign policy, 30% of Moroccans consider the approach of the White House as very negative, 27% find it relatively negative, 7% consider it positive and 26% think successful.

Writing recently for Morocco World News, Ahmad Azizi, a Political Adviser in the United Nations in New York said... "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, a pillar of U.S. foreign policy has been the fight against international terrorism. This, coupled with the (misguided) notion that arming rebels in Syria could put dangerous arms in the hands of terrorist, has lead to the U.S. shying away from providing more than symbolic support for the Syrian revolution. In addition, the fatigue that came about as a result of U.S. miscalculated intervention in Afghanistan and, particularly, Iraq, thereby over-stretching the U.S. military and budget, means only one thing: international intervention, regardless of whether it is warranted or not, would not be a popular proposition. Also, the arrival of conservative Islamists to the helm of power in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya only makes matters worse for the U.S. president who faces the daunting dilemma of supporting Arab people’s democratic choice knowing that it would lead to support for none other than those who supposedly show enmity towards the U.S".

According to the daily newspaper Al Akhbar Yaoum the survey also reveals that Morocco is the Arab country most favourable to the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the MENA region of the Middle East and North Africa. The recent opinion poll of citizens in nine Arab nations found a curious and dramatic range in support for Donald Trump’s candidacy. From a low of 4% (Morocco) to a relatively high 20% among Iraqi respondents. Almost 60% of all respondents said that they are following the US presidential election on a regular or occasional basis.

The survey was conducted among 3,600 people in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, with 400 respondents per country.

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