Morocco’s Islamist parties joining hands ahead of the elections

Doaa Emam

Political analysts expect Morocco’s Islamist parties to reach understandings ahead of the legislative elections, which are slated for 2021.

This comes in the wake of meetings between officials from the Justice and Development Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Morocco, and the Authenticity and Modernity Party, the largest opposition Islamist party in Morocco.

According to the news site, Rue20.Com, officials from the two parties held a series of secret meetings, during which they discussed a wide range of political issues, including coalitions ahead of the elections.

The site noted on February 24 that the meetings attested to the desire of the two parties to pursue normal relations with each other in the coming period.

This is especially true, the site said, in the presence of calls inside the Justice and Development Party for reconsidering ties with the Authenticity and Modernity Party. The two parties were at loggerheads for years in the past.

Al-Gharbi al-Mehrashi, a senior member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, denied reports about an imminent détente between his party and the Justice and Development Party.

“Those behind these reports are spreading baseless news,” al-Mehrashi said.

Another party member, namely Abdelatif Wehbi, said the meetings between officials from the two parties aim at normalizing relations between them.

Alteration

Analysts attribute the change of heart inside the Authenticity and Modernity Party towards the Justice and Development to the weaknesses of the party and its internal rifts.

These rifts and weaknesses have led to a drop in the popularity of the party, analysts said.

The Justice and Development Party, meanwhile, does not think the Authenticity and Modernity Party is a real competitor now, Suleiman al-Imrani, the secretary-general of the Justice and Development Party said.

He added that his party’s interests lie in hammering out new alliances.