Rabat – Abdelilah Benkirane, secretary-general of Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD), reaffirmed his party’s unwavering support for the monarchy, describing it as “essential for Morocco.”
“Our King is Mohammed VI, and, God willing, after him it will be his son or whoever succeeds him. There are disagreements with other political parties, even if we wanted to explain what happened with those other parties. We came so that our country can move forward and improve and to elect the best person as head of government,” Benkirane said.
Benkirane continued that the monarchy is determined by lineage.
“As for the monarchy, that is God’s will, determined by lineage, and there is nothing we can do about it. It is decided by His Majesty the King,” but as for elections, they are in the hands of the people.
He said that elected institutions should remain in the hands of the people, lamenting reports suggesting that the next head of government has already been determined.
Recent reports suggest that Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget and president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), is a leading contender to head the next government, especially after the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) officially announced on Saturday that he had joined its political leadership.
Benkirane argued that such reports undermine the credibility of the electoral process, questioning the purpose of holding elections if the next head of government has already been decided.
Launching a sharp attack on PAM, Benkirane described the party as “corrupt.”
“What are these elections that we are heading toward, where it is being said that they have already prepared a new head of government? Whoever that head of government may be, the problem is the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM),” Benkirane said.
“The Authenticity and Modernity Party is a corrupt party. We do not even need to talk about it—just look at who is in prison, who is accused of drug trafficking, and look at how many scandals there have been. Look at how many secretaries-general the party has had—I can’t even remember them all anymore,” he said.
While discussing drug trafficking and scandals, Benkirane referred to the “Sahara Escobar” case, in which two former senior members of the party were convicted.
In June, the Criminal Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal handed down its verdict in Morocco’s high-profile “Sahara Escobar” case, sentencing former Wydad Athletic Club president and former senior PAM member Said Naciri to 10 years in prison.
The court also sentenced Abdenbi Bioui, the former president of the Oriental Region, to 12 years in prison, making the pair the most prominent defendants convicted in the case.
Benkirane also spoke about his party’s growth and success during its first term in government, mentioning how it went from 107 to 125 seats and describing it as a dazzling success that was unprecedented in politics.
He also spoke about what he described as the blockade that followed during his second term.
“They imposed a blockade on us. Four parties were involved… Why this blockade? No one can understand why this happened,” Benkirane said.
The PJD led the government in Morocco from November 2011 to October 2021. The first term was led by Benkirane until 2016.
Following a political gridlock, King Mohammed VI replaced Benkirane with Saad Eddine El Othmani, who served as head of government in the second PJD-led coalition cabinet.
The PJD, however, suffered a crushing defeat, dropping from 125 seats to just 12 in the September 8, 2021 elections, when Aziz Akhannouch was elected head of government.
