Morocco’s Upcoming Elections Could Reshape North African Politics, Says Former French PM

"Yet in the Arab-Muslim world there is at least one reason to hope. In Morocco, on September 8, legislative, municipal and regional elections will be held on the same day - and this is a first in the history of the country. The stakes are high, because the "Islamists" of the PJD (Party of Justice and Development), who have led two government coalitions for 10 years, could lose the legislative elections. Morocco could therefore write a new page in its post-Arab Spring political history," analyzes Manuel Valls in an op-ed published by Le Journal Du Dimanche.

The former Prime Minister notes that Moroccan diplomacy has been very active in the last 18 months. He refers to the inauguration of several consulates in the Sahara, the hosting of the various Libyan parties to find a solution to the conflict that opposes them, the normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel in exchange for American recognition of the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara, the tripartite agreement (Morocco, USA, Israel) signed on December 22, 2020, the historic visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Yaïr Lapid to Morocco, the upcoming and reciprocal opening of embassies in the two countries, the end of the rift with Spain. For the Franco-Spanish political actor, etc.

"All of this demonstrates the strategic role of Morocco in the Mediterranean and in Africa - where it is extremely active economically and politically -, in the management of migratory flows or in the fight against terrorism and organized crime (especially drug trafficking)," he comments, noting that "the revelations this summer on the use by Moroccan security services of the Israeli spyware Pegasus do not seem, pending the results of various investigations, to affect relations with its main partners". "Of course, we must be demanding towards this friendly country but Europe and therefore France need a stable, cooperative and growth-driven Morocco," is convinced the former French Prime Minister, noting that the democratic advances contrast with the situation of its Maghreb neighbors.