JDP rejects Idrissi’s resignation, seeks to reunite Brotherhood of Morocco

Doaa Emam

Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani – secretary-general of the Justice and Development Party (JDP), the political arm of the Brotherhood in Morocco – rejected the resignation of the head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, Idriss Azami Al Idrissi, after former party chairman Abdelilah Benkirane called on ministers and parliamentarians to withdraw, following a vote in favor of the controversial “Education France” law in the specialized parliamentary committee.

Othmani’s refusal to accept Idrissi’s resignation signifies another step in his struggle against the Benkirane current, especially since Idrissi, who is also the mayor of the city of Fez, is one of the important frameworks in the party.

Othmani attacked some leaders of his party because of posts on social networking sites, in a reference to Benkirane, expressing dissatisfaction with what he called protrusions.

Othmani added in a statement on Saturday, August 3 that these are only an estimated 10-20 people out of 40,000 party members. He stressed that the party will take the necessary decisions as required by its internal regulations, in reference to the imminent issuance of sanctions against a number of leaders and members of the party who oppose the orientation of the current secretariat, led by the former secretary-general of the party.

The party leaders tried to convince the head of the parliamentary bloc to retreat immediately after the resignation, but he stuck to it, and considered it final and irreversible.

For his part, Abdellatif Wahbi, a member of the political bureau of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), said that Benkirane wants to blow up the JDP conference of 2021 to again become the party’s general-secretary and thus settle his political reckonings with Othmani. He stressed, however, that the current prime minister remains strongly organized by virtue of heavily weighted figures.

The JDP is undergoing a major political transformation and living on the gate of the end of Benkirane, Wahbi noted. The man is intelligent, he said, adding that he is expected to be silent in the future because he initiates only when he is supported by major political forces and then quickly retreats if he loses them.

Regarding the possibility of a split in the Islamist party, he said, “The party will be shaken by the resignations, but will remain united behind the pragmatism of Othmani,” stressing that Benkirane has to understand the extent reached; heading the government after the 2011 constitution is not easy.

It is noteworthy that the draft law, which sparked a whirlwind amid the JDP because of its approval to teach scientific materials in French, became a collection after the vote in favor and only remains to be published in the Official Gazette to become effective.