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An Islamist Government in Morocco?

01/09/2007 By Kristina Kausch

The Moroccan parliamentary elections on September 7th, 2007, will witness for the first time an Islamist party running for government with a reasonable possibility of success.

The Justice and Development Party (Parti de la Justice et du Développement, PJD), a moderate, non-violent and non-revolutionary Islamist party that recognises the current political system of the monarchy, has forcefully emerged and consolidated its position as the main opposition force in Morocco since the last elections in 2002.

Domestic and international observers anticipate a potential political shift. With the 7 September legislative elections drawing near, many international observers are hoping to see Morocco’s moderate PJD Party in government before too long.

This report assesses possible outcomes of the elections in the light of the challenges facing advocates of democratic reform in the north African country.

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Keywords

Democratisation Elections Islam Morocco North Africa Political Reform

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Bio author: Kristina Kausch

Kristina Kausch is a Researcher at FRIDE. She focuses on on European policies of democracy support in the European neighbourhood, in particular in the Southern Mediterranean. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Göttingen. Prior to joining FRIDE in 2004, she worked for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on programmes of democratic governance and institution-building.