Justice and Development Party (Morocco)

Justice and Development Party
Arabic: حزب العدالة والتنمية
French: Parti de la justice et du développement
Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵏⵣⵣⴰⵔⴼⵓⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵏⴼⵍⵉⵜ
AbbreviationJDP (English)
PJD (French)
General SecretaryAbdelilah Benkirane
FounderAbdelkrim al-Khatib
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
Split fromPopular Movement
Headquarters4, rue El Yefrani Cité les Orangers, Rabat
NewspaperAlmisbah
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[7]
ReligionIslam
Colours  Blue   Orange
House of Representatives
13 / 395
House of Councillors
3 / 120
Pan-African Parliament
1 / 5
(Morocco seats)
Website
www.pjd.ma
Saadeddine Othmani
Abdelilah Benkirane

The Justice and Development Party[a] is a political party in Morocco that advocates for Islamism. It was the ruling party of Morocco from 2011 to 2021.

History

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PJD was founded by Abdelkrim al-Khatib, one of the founders of the Popular Movement party, from which he was expelled in the mid-1960s, under the name of MPDC (French: Mouvement populaire démocratique et constitutionnel, the "Popular Democratic and Constitutional Movement").[8] The party was an empty shell for many years, until various members of a clandestine association Chabiba Islamia, who later formed the MUR (French: Mouvement unité et réforme, the "Unity and Reform Movement") joined the party, with the authorisation and encouragement of former interior minister Driss Basri. It later changed its name to current PJD in 1998.

The party won eight seats in the parliamentary election in 1997.[9] In the parliamentary election held on 27 September 2002, the party won 42 out of 325 seats,[9] winning most of the districts where it fielded candidates. Its secretary-general since 2004 was Saadeddine Othmani, MP representing Mohammedia. In the parliamentary election held on 7 September 2007, the PJD won 43 out of 325 seats,[10] behind the Istiqlal Party, which won 52. This was contrary to expectations that the PJD would win the most seats.[11] However, the party had limited number of candidates in the election.[10]

Abdelilah Benkirane was elected leader of the PJD in July 2008, taking over from Saadeddine Othmani.[12] Having won a plurality of seats (107 seats) in the November 2011 parliamentary election,[13][14] the party formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments, and Benkirane was appointed Prime Minister of Morocco on 29 November 2011.[15][16]

His new government has targeted average economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its four-year mandate, and to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of 2016 from 9.1 percent at the start of 2012.[16] Benkirane's government has also actively pursued Morocco's ties with the European Union, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

In the 2021 general election, the PJD suffered a crushing defeat, losing 113 seats.[17][18][19]

On 11 March 2023, the PJD released a statement criticizing Nasser Bourita, Morocco's foreign minister, accusing him of defending Israel during meetings with African and European officials. In response, the royal cabinet released a statement rebuking the PJD.[20][21] Party leader Abdelilah Benkirane asked members of the party to not comment on the statement released by the royal cabinet and said the comments were directed towards Bourita, rather than the nation's interests.[22][23][24][25]

Ideology

[edit]

PJD is a conservative Islamic-democratic party which supports the Moroccan monarchy. PJD disavows violence, terrorism and seeks to defend Morocco's Islamic identity through legislative means.[9][26]

According to a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the PJD has placed economic and legal issues at the core of its platform and is committed to internal democracy.[27]

The party's stated platform includes:[28]

  • Education reform and reestablishment.
  • Economic partnerships with other countries.
  • Enhancement of democracy and human rights.
  • Encouraging investment.
  • Greater "Arab and Muslim unity".

It is historically affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood,[29][30][31][32] however, despite this, PJD was never an official branch.[29]

Electoral results

[edit]

Moroccan Parliament

[edit]
House of Representatives
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Leader
1977 625,786 (#3) 12.40
44 / 264
-
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
1984 69,862 (#8) 1.6
0 / 301
Decrease 44
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
1993 did not participate –
0 / 333
-
-
1997 264,324 (#10) 4.1
9 / 325
Increase 9
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
2002 ? (#3) 12.92
42 / 325
Increase 33
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
2007 503,396 (#2) 10.9
46 / 325
Increase 4
Saadeddine Othmani
2011 1,080,914 (#1) 22.8
107 / 395
Increase 61
Abdelilah Benkirane
2016 1,618,963 (#1) 27.88
125 / 395
Increase 18
Abdelilah Benkirane
2021 325,337 (#8) 4.30
13 / 395
Decrease 112
Saadeddine Othmani

See also

[edit]

Notes

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  1. ^
    • Arabic: حزب العدالة والتنمية, romanized: ḥizb al-ʿadāla wa-t-tanmiya
    • Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵏⵣⵣⴰⵔⴼⵓⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵏⴼⵍⵉⵜ, romanized: akabar n tanzzarfut d tanflit
    • French: Parti de la justice et du développement

References

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  1. ^ Feriha Perekli (2012). "The Applicability of the "Turkish Model" to Morocco: The Case of the Parti de la Justice et du Développement (PJD)" (PDF). Insight Turkey. 14 (3): 85–108. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Islamists in Morocco election claim 'historic' vote breakthrough". The Telegraph. 26 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b Alami, Aida (25 November 2011). "Moroccans Vote in Election Marking Shift of Power From King". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  4. ^ Chen, Cherice (25 November 2011). "Morocco votes in first election since protests; Islamist party eyes victory". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  5. ^ López García, Bernabé; de Larramendi, Miguel Hernando (9 March 2017). "The 2016 parliamentary elections in Morocco: context and interpretations". Elcano Royal Institute.
  6. ^ Abouzzohour, Yasmina (22 September 2017). "The Persistent Rural Failure of Morocco's Justice and Development Party". Project on Middle East Political Science.
  7. ^ Ruedas, Alma, "Sahrawi Self-Determination Within Existing Borders: Adapting the Right to Self Determination to Modern International Norms" (2019). Student Research Symposium. 9. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/studentsymposium/2019/Presentations/9
  8. ^ Mohammed Hirchi (August 2007). "Political Islam in Morocco: The Case of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD)". ACAS Bulletin (77). Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Islamists in Morocco election claim 'historic' vote breakthrough". The Telegraph. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  10. ^ a b Kristine Krausch (July 2007). "An Islamist Government in Morocco?" (PDF). FRIDE. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Moroccans favor conservative party instead of ushering in Islamic party". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 9 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Abdelilah Benkirane élu à la tête du PJD". JDM Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Morocco". European Forum. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Youth Perceptions in Morocco" (PDF). National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. 2012.
  15. ^ Abdelilah Benkirane, dirigeant du Parti justice et développement, annoncé comme le vainqueur des législatives France24. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Morocco's new govt targets 5.5 pct GDP growth". Reuters. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014.
  17. ^ "Islamists suffer crushing defeat in Moroccan parliamentary elections". France 24. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  18. ^ Alami, Aida; Casey, Nicholas (9 September 2021). "Islamists See Big Losses in Moroccan Parliamentary Elections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  19. ^ "The lessons of history: The PJD and the history of partisan politics in Morocco". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Royal Court condemns statements from PJD on Kingdom's foreign policy". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  21. ^ Aamari, Oussama. "Royal Cabinet Debunks PJD Claims Over Morocco's Position on Palestinian Cause". Morocco World News. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Benkirane instructs PJD party members to refrain from commenting on royal court statement". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  23. ^ Kasraoui, Safaa. "Benkirane Asks PJD Members Not to Comment on Royal Cabinet's Palestine Statement". Morocco World News. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Benkirane responds to royal scorn over Israel statements". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  25. ^ Zouiten, Sara. "PJD Denies Interfering in King Mohammed VI's Constitutional Powers". Morocco World News. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  26. ^ Knickmeyer, Ellen (7 September 2007). "Islamic Party Confident in Morocco". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  27. ^ Amr Hamzawy (July 2008). "Party for Justice and Development in Morocco: Participation and Its Discontents". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  28. ^ "Arab Political Parties Database: Morocco: Justice and Development party". United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  29. ^ a b "Threat of US designation sparks fears in ruling PJD". Menas Associates. 29 May 2019.
  30. ^ "Headaches for Benkirane". Africa Confidential. 24 January 2014.
  31. ^ Mohammed Masbah (November 2014). "Islamist and Secular Forces in Morocco" (PDF). German Institute for International and Security Affairs. p. 4.
  32. ^ Abed Charef (16 September 2021). "Fin de parcours pour les Frères musulmans au Maghreb ?". Middle East Eye.
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