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Europe & Middle East / Backgrounder

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's Democratisation Programme and focuses on European policies of democracy promotion in the European neighbourhood. Prior to joining FRIDE in November 2004, she worked for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on programmes of good governance and democratisation, and at the Bertelsmann Foundation.