Morocco’s Ruling PJD Party Struggles to Field Candidates for September Elections

Although the party has several well-known figures, no one has yet filed their candidacy for the upcoming elections, said an anonymous senior PJD official to Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. Thus, the upcoming elections risk taking place without the participation of the PJD’s big candidates if nothing is done. Recently, several senior party officials, including ministers, presidents of local authorities and others, have withdrawn from the party.

However, their departure from the political formation could be due to the pressures exerted on them, the daily suggested, without explaining the reason for these pressures and their origins. But, since these departures are not yet official, the PJD could rush the procedures at the central level in order to convince the party’s leaders to run in the next elections.

Moreover, the "utopian" procedures that the PJD boasted of seem to reveal the party’s shortcomings, especially with the new electoral quotient based on the number of registered voters and not on the number of votes obtained. Faced with this situation, during its recent session, the PJD National Council chaired by Driss El Azami El Idrissi, removed several recommendations from the rules and regulations committee, as they are not of great importance for the upcoming elections, the same source added, specifying that this could also limit the competitiveness of the party that wants to win a third term at the head of the government.