U.S Ambassador Visits Morocco’s New Chief of Government

Rabat – The appointment of Mr. Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), as Chief of government resulted in an outpour of congratulation messages and planned visits from political leaders around the world.

Some of the worth while mentioning congratulatory messages were from, both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of France, Morocco’s main economic partner and political ally.  The United States Ambassador to Morocco, Mr. Samuel L. Kaplan paid Mr. Benkirane a personal  visit on Wednesday at the headquarters of the PJD in Rabat.  Mr. Kaplan congratulated Mr. Benkirane on the victory of his party in last Friday’s legislative elections and his appointment as Chief of government.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated Morocco on its parliamentary election.“I congratulate the Moroccan people on the successful completion of Friday’s parliamentary elections where millions of Moroccans went to the polls to elect their new political leaders”, she said in a statement.  “Now, working with King Mohammed VI, the new parliament and civil society can implement the amended constitution as a step toward fulfilling the aspirations and rights of all Moroccans,” she added.

The Justice and Development Party (PJD) captured 107 seats in the 395-seat assembly in Friday’s polls, the Moroccan interior ministry said.  It had 47 seats in the outgoing parliament, which made it the main opposition party.

This is the first time that the PJD will be entrusted with the task of leading the government, after it spent 14 years in opposition.  In its first participation in the legislative elections in 1997, it obtained 8 seats.  In 2002, the first elections held under the rule of King Mohammed VI, it obtained 42 seats and in 2007 it won 47 seats and came in second position after the Istiqlal party, which won 52 seats.

 Reporting from Fez by Nidal Chebbak

Editing by Rajaa El Alami