Morocco’s Brotherhood seeking to survive

Doaa Emam

The Justice and Development Party, the political arm of the Moroccan Muslim Brotherhood, will likely go through divisions on the back of internal conflicts which may get complicated in the coming period.

That could threaten the party’s future. The party is currently leading the Moroccan government, which is headed by Saadeddine Othmani, as the political parties are preparing for the legislative elections in Morocco.

As the Justice and Development Party is suffering from an internal crisis, the present divisions are expected to cast a shadow on the party’s future, with Abdelilah Benkirane leading the youth wing in the parry.

Othmani is concerned that his party would lose the legislative elections, which are due in2021, because of the party’s internal conflicts.

Moreover, a number of Moroccan reports said that there are serious internal disagreements that may impact the performance of the Othmani-led government. The Moroccan government is facing many challenges such as development, employment and other social issues, which were left unresolved by former Prime Minister Benkirane.

A number of Moroccan newspapers said some of Justice and Development Party’s young men interrogated by a special committee.

Benkirane exposed the party’s internal affairs, unveiling the links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is keen “not to expose” its internal disagreements to the public.

Benkirane noted that the Brotherhood’s leaders are now investigating with the organization’s internal opposition, warning these leaders against only looking for their own selfish interests.

Moroccan researcher Idriss al-Kanbouri, an expert on Islamism, said that Benkirane wants to take over of the Justice and Development Party at any cost by amending the article authorizing him to advance for a third term.

Al-Kanbouri said such a move would block the way for ministers in the General Secretariat and surrounding himself with some cheerleaders.

Al-Kanbouri argued in a Facebook post that the conflicts within the Justice and Development Party have become public. He said the party used to show itself united. The researcher did not dismiss that the conflicts were caused by some old political and personal grudges.