Abdelilah Benkirane, the Justice and Development Party’s Secretary-General, pointed the finger at Saadeddine Othmani, his predecessor in both the party and the government, for the recent dip in the party’s performance in legislative and communal elections.
Addressing the regional forum of his party’s community organizations in the Casablanca-Settat region, Benkirane recalled the initial days of his party’s governance as a period of clear victories, which “was crowned with a clear victory, which manifested itself in the 2015 and 2017 elections results,” he stated.
He acknowledged the party’s various political faux-pas in the post-deadlock phase, particularly under Othmani’s leadership, which, according to him, inflicted significant harm on the party.
Benkirane acknowledged that a prevalent discontent among the Moroccan people vis-a-vis his party is being witnessed, asserting that “people are dissatisfied with us, and this is the reality.”
