Rabat - When the results of Morocco’s last parliamentary elections in October 7th were announced, nobody would have expected such a turn of events as the one we saw when Saad Eddine Othmani’s government was appointed.
Rabat – When the results of Morocco’s last parliamentary elections in October 7th were announced, nobody would have expected such a turn of events as the one we saw when Saad Eddine Othmani’s government was appointed.
On the day after the elections, former head of government and leader of Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, was hailed by supporters as the islamists victory was unprecedented in Moroccan parliamentary history.
For the first time a political party wins elections in the kingdom despite a clear and fierce competition by its main rival, the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM).
Yet, the sweet taste of victory turned sour when Benkirane stumbled to form a coalition, thus replaced by his co-member Saad Eddine Othmani. The latter made concessions even his fellow PJD members saw as a staggering defeat.
This sense of defeated is now admitted by Abdelilah Benkirane. During a meeting of PJD’s youth organization on Saturday, he said, “this is a rough time for the party. We lost the battle.”
The islamists’ leader said PJD fell, but the question is whether it can get up.
Benkirane urged the party’s youth not to ask about the real reasons why the Socialist Union for Popular Forces Party (USFP), was admitted to Othmani’s government despite early rejection by PJD.
The former head of government defended party members’ right to voice their discontent, saying: “we can’t order anyone to silence. The party has to guarantee freedom of expression to its members.”
This is probably a clear indication that Benkirane himself is not happy with the outcome of the governmental negotiations, following his dismissal by king Mohamed VI, which led to the appointment of Othmani’s government.
