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Rabat – Minister of Governance and General Affairs Lahcen Daoudi has finally spoken about what pushed him to submit his resignation request after he joined a sit-in against the major boycott campaign on June 5.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Daoudi said that he decided to resign from the government to reduce the damage to his party, the Justice and Development Party (PJD).
He explained his “unplanned” participation in the sit-in in front of Parliament, saying that the sit-in coincided with his arrival in the Parliament for a parliamentary committee meeting.
He added that he participated for fear that a crowd of protesters would surround him. The sit-in was organized by employees of Centrale Danone, which has been under boycott by Moroccan consumers since April 20. Danone fired many of its employees due to the effects of the boycott.
In his interview, which was published Saturday, Daoudi recognized that he may have made a “hasty decision.”
The minister, who angered boycotters, added that his participation was to defend employees rather than Centrale Danone.
Since the sit-in last Tuesday, the PJD released a series of statements denouncing Daoudi’s participation in the sit-in. In the first statement released Wednesday night after an extraordinary meeting, the party considered the action “unreasonable” and “inappropriate.”
The party has also appreciated Daoudi’s decision to resign from the government.
On June 8, the party released another statement, denying it had received a resignation request from Daoudi.
The statement notes that it learned about his intention to resign and “hailed his courageous decision,” but never received his resignation request.
Since the launch of the boycott on April 20, Daoudi has angered boycotters by defending Centrale Danone and the national economy. In May, Daoudi said that the boycott is going on for “no reason.”
King Mohammed VI has not yet approved Daoudi’s resignation request, as required by the Moroccan constitution.
Subsequently, Daoudi participated in the Government Council of Thursday, June 7.
