New face

tauringhuang.

Jul 28th 2008
From the Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire

Morocco's Islamist-leaning PJD party elects a new leader


Morocco's Islamist-leaning Parti de la justice et du développement (PJD), the second-largest party in parliament, has elected a new leader following a party congress attended by many of the country's leading politicians. Such an orderly and transparent process of democratic change is a rare occurrence in Arab politics, which tends to be dominated by long-serving autocrats, and reflects the ambition of the PJD to put itself forward as a model for respectable Islamism, along the lines of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). In an ironic twist, whereas the new PJD leader, Abdelillah Benkirane, received a congratulatory phone call from King Mohammed VI, Turkey's AKP is under threat of disbandment in a court case that is set to commence on July 28th.

The election of Mr Benkirane came at the end of the party's sixth annual congress, held on July 19th-20th. Along with some 1,600 delegates from the PJD, several prominent political figures were also in attendance, including members of the cabinet and parliament, a former prime minister, Driss Jettou, and heads of other political parties, both from Morocco and other countries. The most notable absentee was Fouad Ali El Himma, the head of the newly formed Mouvement pour tous les democrats (MTD), and a close confidant of the king. Mr Himma has been involved in a sharp polemic with the previous leadership of the PJD, but is said to be more favourably disposed to Mr Benkirane.

The party congress picked "no politics without credibility", as its theme, calling for a restoration of trust in politics. Many Moroccans believe that important political decisions are still made by the monarchy and therefore remain sceptical towards political institutions. Voter turnout was just 37% at the last general election in September 2007. While expressing its allegiance to the monarchy, the PJD has called for further progress in democratic reforms that would empower political parties and help to give the political system more credibility among the public. The party advocates government based on Islamic principles, but has sought to avoid being seen as doctrinaire.

In the leadership contest at the end of the congress, Mr Benkirane received 684 votes, comfortably beating his nearest competitor, the outgoing secretary-general, Saad Eddine Othmani (495 votes), who had been expected to win. Mr Benkirane, who was the president of the PJD's National Council, the party's policy-making arm, is generally perceived as a pragmatic and consensus-making moderate, in particular in his relations with the monarchy. He has gained increasing popularity within the party, whereas Mr Othmani had been criticised for being vague and indecisive during his leadership. His standing had been affected by the relatively poor showing of the PJD in the September election—the party had set itself the target of winning up to 90 seats, but its eventual tally was only 46, leaving it in second place behind the conservative nationalist Istiqlal, which won 52 out of the total 325 seats.

Edging close to government
The PJD was not included in the coalition government formed after the election. According to Mr Benkirane, the party had previously been offered the chance of joining the government in 1998 and 2002—offers which he said he had been inclined to accept. However, the PJD was obliged to adopt a lower profile after the 2003 terrorist bomb attacks in Casablanca, which was followed by a clampdown on Islamists of all stripes. The PJD now seems to be advancing on the road to rehabilitation. Mr Benkirane's first big test will be the municipal elections in 2009, in which the PJD will be looking to wrest control of some of Morocco's major cities, possibly in alliance with the Unions socialiste des forces populaires (USFP), a formerly dominant left-leaning party that was the biggest loser in the 2007 general election. Mr Himma is also courting the USFP as a potential ally for his party in the municipal polls.

Further ahead, the big prize for Mr Benkirane and the PJD would be victory in the next general election, which is scheduled to take place in 2012. Mr Benkirane has stated that, in the event of an election win, the PJD would have no objection to serving under a technocrat prime minister.