Istiqlal Party threatens withdrawal from governing coalition

Moroccan cabinet meeting Leading officials of Morocco’s Istiqlal Party petitioned their faction to withdraw from Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane’s government, currently led by the Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD). One hundred and sixty members of the Istiqlal National Council signed the petition, claiming the motion could cause Benkirane’s PJD to lose its majority in parliament.
The incumbent prime minister came to power in the 2011 general elections. The Istiqlal Party, headed by Hamid Chabat, remains the backbone of a governing coalition that also includes the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) and the liberal Popular Movement.
Sources told Arabstoday that petitioners had been galvanising support throughout Morocco to urge National Council members to secede from the coalition. Various Istiqlal authorities are expected to issue statements in support of the motion.
Istiqlal’s impetus to withdraw was heightened after Benkirane harshly reprimanded Chabat. The Prime Minister requested a formal apology for the Secretary General’s successive condemnations of the current government in the media, including his recent comments that some PPS politicians had been drunk in parliament.
Chabat succeeded former Prime Minister Allal El Fassi as Istiklal’s chief in September. Shortly after his election to party leadership, Istiqlal's secretary-general issued a contentious 30-page memorandum rebuking Benkirane’s government and threatening to withdraw from the coalition.
Last week, Chabat reaffirmed his criticism of the current government’s sluggishness and unwillingness to engage in social dialogue.
Member of Parliament Adel Chickitu said the Istiklal National Council’s motivation to withdraw stemmed from objections to the ruling party’s monopolistic approach.  Abdel-Aziz Aftaty, a member of the Istiklal General Secretariat, welcomed the initiative.
Aftaty suggested that Benkirane would be unable to find new allies, and that the Moroccan people would make the final decision on his future.
Other coalition party leaders refused to comment on Istiklal’s threats to withdraw, disassociating themselves from the ongoing quarrel between Benkirane and Chabat.