Rabat – Minister of Health Anas Doukkali has announced his decision to step down from the political bureau of his party, the Progress and Socialism Party (PPS).
The decision comes less than a week after PPS announced its decision to leave the government coalition, citing “lack of cohesion and solidarity “between political parties in the government.”
Last week, Doukkali strongly opposed his party’s decision to leave the coalition.
Former Secretary of State Charafat Afilal, who is also a member of the PPS criticized Doukkali, calling him an “opportunist.”
Afailal told Media24 that when the party members voted for the party’s withdrawal from the government Doukkali “violently” contested the “unanimous decision.”
Despite being part of the party since 2019, “he [Doukkali] gave the impression of having believed that our participation in the government was eternal.”
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She also accused him of making some young people in the PPS to protest the vote.
“He tried to stop the vote and suddenly I lost my temper against a minority that wanted to sabotage the process while some members came from far away to validate the decision of the political burdeau.”
Afilal said that Doukkali does not “get the codes of political parties right, personally I was a minister for five years and it was not the end of the world when I was told to leave the government.”
The former minister suggested that Doukkali does not want his party to leave the government so that he can remain at the head of the Ministry of Health.
Several videos documenting the vote inside the political bureau of the PPS show Doukkali strongly arguing with the leader of the PPS Nabil Benabdellah.
At one point, Doukkali appeared urging Benabdellah to count some group of young people in the back of the room who were protesting the decision to leave the government.
The videos, however also showed large number of PPS members voting for the decision to leave the coalition.
King Mohammed VI appointed Doukkali as minister of health in November 2018.
