Istiqlal (party)

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Arabic حزب الاستقلال, DMG ḥizb al-istiqlāl , Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ Akabar n Listiqlal , French Parti de l'Istiqlal , Party of Independence (PI)
Party logo
Party leader Nizar Baraka
founding 1944
Headquarters Rabat , Morocco
Alignment conservative , nationalistic
Colours) pink, white
Parliament seats 46 of 395 in the Assembly of Representatives
(since 2016)
International connections Centrist Democratic International (CDI)
Website http://www.istiqlal.org/

Istiqlal or Party of Independence ( Arabic حزب الاستقلال, DMG ḥizb al-istiqlāl , Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ Akabar n Listiqlal , French Parti de l'Istiqlal , PI) is an important and at the same time the oldest political party in Morocco . It is considered socio-politically conservative and nationalist and belongs to the Centrist Democratic International (CDI).

The party provided the Prime Minister of Morocco from 2007 to 2011 and was a coalition partner in the PJD- led government of Abdelilah Benkirane until 2013 , before switching back to the opposition. The party's election symbol is a scale.

history

founding

Party founder Allal al-Fassi (1949)

The Istiqlal party was founded in 1944 by the Islamic legal scholar Allal al-Fassi as the country's first political party. It emerged from his Comité d'action marocain , founded in 1934 , after a Manifeste pour l'indépendance (istiqlal) had been drawn up. Initially, it was an over-ideological, national gathering party of all forces that stood up for the independence of Morocco. The aspirations for independence were also fueled by the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. There were pogroms against Moroccan Jews and, as a result, a sustained emigration movement. The Istiqlal leaders were arrested by the French protectorate judiciary in 1952 after a mutiny, and the Istiqlal was banned, as was the Communist Party. Their militant forces were involved in assassination attempts against Muhammad ibn Arafa , the "Sultan of the French" in the years 1953-1954, after Sultan Mohammed Ben Yusuf (later King Mohammed V ) was deposed from France and exiled . However, with the support of the sultan, the national independence movement was strong enough that the latter was allowed to return to Morocco in 1955 and France had to give Morocco independence in 1956.

After independence

After independence, Istiqlal assumed the character of a dominant state party and spoke out in favor of Greater Morocco . On the one hand, the party leadership moved closer to King Mohammed V, on the other hand, the other political parties were opposed, in some cases radically. Secret prisons have been set up all over the country, where hundreds or more people have been tortured and killed. This fact is openly acknowledged by the party today, but with uncontrollable militant groups within the rallying party declares that the participation or responsibility of the party leaders at the time is denied. The role of the king also remains unclear, although it must be assumed that in the early days of his reign he simply lacked the political power and authority to pacify the radical, political forces of the young nation. On May 12, 1958, King Mohammed V appointed the general secretary of Istiqlal Ahmed Balafrej , foreign minister since independence, as the new prime minister. His pure Istiqlal government lasted until December 1958, when he was dismissed and replaced by his party colleague Abdellah Ibrahim .

The left wing of the party under Mehdi Ben Barka , who stood for more state intervention in the economy and distance from the USA, and in some cases also for Marxist ideas, split off in 1959 and formed the new party Union Nationale des Forces Populaires (UNFP).

During the quasi-absolutist rule of King Hassan II , crowned in 1961 , who tried to stabilize the political system of Morocco and the power of the king in 1962 by introducing a constitution , the Istiqlal party, like the UNFP, advocated more control rights of the Constitutional organs., But was part of a government led by the king himself until 1963. In 1965, the king suspended the constitution and permanently dissolved parliament. Istiqlal and UNFP formed the opposition alliance Al-Kutla Al-Wataniya (National Coalition). They boycotted the referendum to legitimize the second constitution of 1970 imposed by Hassan II. Istiqlal members played a key role in the Ligue Marocaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme (LMDDH; Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights), which sought international attention in view of the violation of fundamental rights by the Hassan's regime.

The king supported the establishment of new parties on several occasions to compete with the Istiqlal and weaken its position. Popular parties formed from civil society such as Istiqlal and UNFP (or from 1975 the Socialist Union of People's Forces , USFP) were suspicious of Hassan because they questioned his claim to absolute power. As a result, the Istiqlal party was unable to win parliamentary majorities and it was in the opposition for a long time. In particular, it was unable, as it intended, to unite the conservative bourgeoisie and the traditional Islamic elite. Despite her national-conservative program, she was perceived as a secular , western-influenced force or even assigned to the left-wing intellectual camp.

It was not until 1998, a year before Hassan II's death, that she returned to government as part of a center-left coalition (the re-formed al-Kutla) led by Abderrahmane Youssoufi from the USFP. In the same year Abbas al-Fassi , the son-in-law of the party founder Allal al-Fassi, became general secretary of the party. In the 2002 elections, Istiqlal was able to expand its seat share to 48 of the 325 seats and became the second largest party. In 2007 it became the strongest party with 52 seats. Their party leader Al-Fassi was then prime minister of a five-party coalition until 2011.

In the elections in November 2011 , it became the second largest party after the Islamic-religious Party for Justice and Development (PJD) with 60 of the 395 seats in the enlarged parliament. The PJD formed a coalition government with the al-Kutla parties Istiqlal and PPS as well as the People's Movement (MP) under the leadership of the PJD General Secretary Abdelilah Benkirane . In September 2012, the mayor of Fès , Hamid Chabat , succeeded al-Fassi as chairman of the Istiqlal party. Under his leadership, she came into conflict with the PJD and Prime Minister Benkirane. After a dispute over the dismantling of subsidies, she withdrew her ministers from the government in July 2013 and has been in the opposition ever since.

List of general secretaries (party leaders)

Election results

Election results for the National Assembly in Parliament (1956 - 2016)
year Share of votes Seats
1963 28.50%
41/144
won
1970 1 3.33%
8/240
1977 19.32%
51/264
won
1984 13.40%
41/306
1993 15.62%
52/333
1997 9.84%
32/325
2002 15.0%
48/325
2007 10.7%
52/325
won
2011 11.9%
60/395
2016 10.7%
46/395
1 Participation in elections by candidates without the backing of the party (election boycott by the party leadership)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Thomas K. Park, Aomar Boum: Historical Dictionary of Morocco. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD 2006, p. 293.
  2. ↑ Jürgen Hartmann: State and Regime in the Orient and in Africa. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, p. 238.
  3. ↑ Larousse Encyclopedia
  4. ↑ Yabiladi.com "Histoire: Le parti de l'Istiqlal tortionnaire?"
  5. ^ Hartmann: State and Regime in the Orient and in Africa. 2011, 239.
  6. ↑ a b c Mohammed Khallouk: Islamic fundamentalism at the gates of Europe. Morocco between relapse into the Middle Ages and western modernity. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2008, p. 147.
  7. ^ Hartmann: State and Regime in the Orient and in Africa. 2011, 240.
  8. ↑ Khallouk: Islamic Fundamentalism at the Gates of Europe. 2008, p. 121.
  9. ↑ Khallouk: Islamic Fundamentalism at the Gates of Europe. 2008, p. 139.
  10. ↑ Khallouk: Islamic Fundamentalism at the Gates of Europe. 2008, p. 124.
  11. ↑ Khallouk: Islamic Fundamentalism at the Gates of Europe. 2008, p. 146.
  12. ↑ Khallouk: Islamic Fundamentalism at the Gates of Europe. 2008, p. 149.
  13. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6982843.stm
  14. ^ Election victory of the moderate Islamists. In: sueddeutsche.de. November 28, 2011, accessed June 18, 2018 .
  15. ^ Ministers to quit Moroccan coalition. AlJazeera.com, July 9, 2013.