On PJD's Electoral Victory: Same Game, Different Pawn

Lately it seems that the Islamists are coming to power wherever there are relatively free, fair and competitive elections in the Arab world. The latest legislative elections in Morocco follow closely in that trend. As it was expected, the November 25 elections revealed no surprises when the Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) won a plurality 27% of the votes and a total of 107 seats of the newly promulgated 395-seat parliament. The elections witnessed a lackluster voter-turnout of 45%, albeit higher than the 37% voting in the 2007 legislative elections (See this excellent chart of results by CAPDEMA). The electoral contest of November 25th resulted in the usual fragmented party scene as no party, including the PJD, managed to win a majority of the votes in the lower house of the parliament (eight parties receiving more than 5% of the vote and will be represented in the parliament). Based on the elections results, the king as stated in the newly ratified constitution, appointed the head of the PJD 'Abdelilah Benkirane, prime minister and head of the government. Benkirane (pictured above) is amidst negotiations with several parties in the Koutla (political coalition of three parties: Istiqlal party, Socialist Union of Popular Forces USFP and the Party of Progress and Socialism PPS) to form a coalition government.

The lack of utter majoritarian political gain in the elections points to the persistence of old system of party politics and electoral engineering in Morocco. Despite the perfunctory congratulatory endorsement from foreign powers, the elections did not and will not usher in a new era of democratic governance in the kingdom, since the political framework has not changed. The prime minister is considered the head of the government, but still overshadowed by monarchy's hold over power. In addition to vast discretionary powers, the king is the head of state, and has supreme authority in matters of defense, security and religion. PJD, like the socialists of the USFP in 1997, are carefully given control over the government in a show of democratic power transfer to the opposition. It is also a deliberate tactic to manage the political system against the backdrop of the Arab spring's protest movement. The choice of PJD is nonetheless major in the context of Moroccan politics, since it is the first time an Islamist party is heading the government after years in the opposition.

While in the opposition, the PJD served as a critic of the government’s sluggish performance in the economy and state's rampant institutionalized corruption. Despite that, the party is not as popular as the banned al-Adl wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity), especially after joining the parliament. PJD's popularity is largely urban-based and enjoy moderate support in the ranks of university professors and middle class professionals.

PJD's discourse is of an ethical, non-violent and moral dimensions. Their major objective is the establishment an Islamically-oriented state through legal channels of reform, advocacy of Islamic education and promotion of Islamic values. PJD, like al-Adl, have become important in the Moroccan society and have taken advantage of the government’s limitations and inability to provide basic social services to its people. They also have similar means of disseminating their ideas and of recruiting supporters. Both rely on their publications and sources of communications such as the Internet to reach their audience.

It is worth noting here that both movements’ discourse has undergone certain changes before and after the state opened purposively courted PJD to take part in the 1997 elections. In the past, both movements, especially 'Abdessalam Yassine’s al-Adl Wal Ihsane, challenged the authority of the king. Yassine claimed that the monarchy is un-Islamic and the king's authority does not conform to the Islamic laws of Shari’a and is famous for his open epistle to the late King Hassan II admonishing him for lack of Islamic values in Moroccan politics and society. In 2000, Yassine penned a 35-page memorandum to the current king Mohammed VI urging him to repatriate his wealth back to Morocco. The movement also had an anti-west discourse. Accordingly, Yassine views the west as undermining the Islamic faith and as constantly waging a cultural war on Islam. Yassine also claims that this western “satanic” cultural invasion is taking the form of media campaigns against the Islamic faith.

Within the cosmetic process of reforms in Morocco, both movements have changed their discourse. They no longer question, at least openly, the religious identity of the monarchy. Instead, their discourse focuses more on social issues such as, poverty, education and good governance. However, both movements diverged in the strategies they use to achieve their goals. Whereas, al-Adl wal Ihsane has remained loyal to its path of non-rapprochement with the state, PJD transformed itself into a political party with plurality control over the Parliament.

In either case, the monarchical management style has had a taming effect on Islamist ideologies. Al-Adl wal Ihsane's moderation may just be a strategic position and an outcome of their failure to challenge the Islamic foundations of the monarchy. PJD, on the other hand, has moderated its agenda to take advantage of electoral opportunities and to work for social and political reforms within the political system. This moderation has finally paid dividends for the party and culminated in their first ever electoral victory in the last legislative elections.

The challenges before PJD, however, are manifold: first they face a colossal task of addressing the socio-economic problems that have plagued the kingdom for the last decades. Second, PJD has to live up to its campaign promises of eradicating corruption and all facets of kleptocracy in the government. No longer in the opposition, they will soon become part of the same system of patronage. But most importantly, they have to struggle against the image of being yet another co-opted pawn in the hands of the Makhzen. Consequently, it will be interesting to see whether they will attempt to fully take advantage of the executive powers that have been vested in the office of the PM in the new constitution. So far, Benkirane has shown himself a staunch supporter of the monarchy. In his first ever meeting with the sovereign last week, Benkirane said to have been impressed by the king as "a great and agreeable man." Time shall tell whether the new PM will be as docile as he is expected to be.

Read more...