A new American Report: Islamists overrun Elections in Morocco

New American Report: Islamists may overrun Moroccan Elections

An American research center concluded-for the second time in less than one year-that the Party of Development and Justice (Morocco) may overrun elections the next year. Leading members in the party look upon the research as if it aims stirring the opponents of the party against it in order to weaken the party.

 The report submitted by the American Republican institute included a survey among Moroccans then the results leaked to the Moroccan newspaper “Le Journal”. The survey showed that Justice Party may win 45% of voters.

While the Party of Communist Federation may win 16.14% and the Independence Party may win 10.76% according to the report.

The last two parties participate in the Governmental coalition that includes 7 parties from several political trends.
The parliamentary representative of Justice and Development Party Mustapha Al-Ramid, a prominent figure in the party commented on the report saying, “the party is a powerful one, it is not in need for reports from Uncle Sam countries to support it.”

In his statements with islamoline.net site he said that this survey targets forcing several number of parties to attack the Justice party, distort its fame in order to weaken its power and decrease its audience. He said that the status of the Justice and Development Part in political arena weakened the powers of other parties.

American Hypnotize

 A member in the national Council for the Communist Federation Party, Abd Al-Hamid Balbakir, believes that Americans through this survey wants to curb the activities of active Islamic parties where they think that if they frightened middle classes who have weak turnout for elections, they would go and vote for secular or traditional parties who have western like ideologies at least.”

Balbakir warned Islamists in Morocco from these tactics that he calls the “American Hypnotize”, at the same time he stressed on the necessity for exerting efforts in order to accomplish democratic transition in the country through the multi-party system, co-operation, and sound competition.

The American survey comes at a time where parties are busy with the repercussions of the results of the elections of renewing one thirds of the seats of the Consultants Council (second chamber in Parliament) and the competition for winning the presidency of the Council’s bureaus.

Justice and Development party did not win any seat in the aforesaid elections, some media sectors in Morocco considered it as significant defeat for the party, yet the general-secretariat of the party Saad Aldin Al-Othmani said that this defeat was predicted before.

Al-Othmani says that these elections were not direct one and that the representatives of the party between the local consultants are few (members of local councils who have the right to be elected in the Consultants Council).

The party has only 600 consultants of 24 thousands consultants in Morocco. This small number is attributed to the fact that the party is satisfied in competing in the local elections in 2003 and it won 18% of the seats in local councils.

There is an unprecedented disorder in the map of partisan coalitions before the start of the legislative elections where political observers believe that elections would be different this time as the results may produce a new government where Islamists participate in.

Unemployment and Poverty

Along with the predictions for the Moroccan parties the survey tackled the Moroccan public opinion about the issues of work and jobs, where about 43% of the people said that the ministry of labor is the responsible body for providing vacant jobs for those who are not employed, while 38% believed that the government as a whole is the responsible for providing jobs while about 7% believed that it is the responsibility of the legislative council.

79% believe that looking for job is their main concern; 30% believed that combating poverty is the first desire of youth, while 4% only believed that the priority should be given to maintaining the social justice.

It is worthy to mention that in last March the American Institute made a similar survey that leaked to the Moroccan newspaper “Le Journal”, it showed that Justice and Development Party would overrun elections for 47% of votes if the elections were to be held at the time of survey.

Other parties came after Justice and Development Party for 30% of votes. The party won in Parliamentary elections carried out from four years 42 seats; it became the greatest opposing party at that time and the third power in the country although it was elected only in 51% of electoral circles.

The part was interested in not being elected in all electoral circles as not to gain sweeping results while the prospects are not clear concerning a party who adopts Islamic ideologies being in a high political position. Leaders of the party expressed that they do not want to repeat the bitter experience of the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front again.

It is known that the Islamic Salvation Front had overrun elections in Algeria in 1991; the army thereupon cancelled the elections and the results were grievous one that resulted in a series of violent attacks in the country.