Morocco’s ruling party changes position under Othmani

General Secretariat of Morocco’s Justice and Development Party issued a statement after its meeting with new Prime Minister Saad Al Din Othmani to raise a state of controversy among the Moroccan politicians due to its difference from the statements issued by former Prime Minister Abdelelah Bankiran

A number of party’s members expressed their fear over the intention of the new prime minister to offer more concessions to the other parties that imposed their conditions on his predecessor leading him to pay heavy price for his refusal to meet their demands.

The Moroccan ruling party issued a statement expressing its support for the new prime minister during his negotiations with the other parties to form a new strong government enjoying harmony to gain the confidence of Moroccan King Mohamed V.

On the other hand, the new prime minister stressed his keenness to accelerate the process to form the new government using the current positive atmosphere witnessed during the first phase of negotiations, as he conducted a number of meetings with the representatives of Moroccan political parties represented in the parliament.

Othmani was keen to explain his government’s program, stressing the need for forming the new government as soon as possible taking into account the constitutional rules and the will of people expressed in the recent parliamentary elections conducted in October.

Morocco’s King Mohammad VI has named Saad Al Deen Al Othmani of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) as the country’s new prime minister and asked him to form a government, a statement carried by MAP state news agency said on Friday.

The king announced he would replace Abdelelah Bankiran as prime minister with another member of the PJD in an effort to break a five-month post-election deadlock. Al Othmani was foreign minister from 2012-2013 and had most recently served as the head of the PJD’s parliamentary group.