Istiqlal Party
The Istiqlal Party is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democracy Union. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under Abbas El Fassi from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. From 2013 to 2021, it was part of the opposition. Since 2021 it is part of a coalition government led by Aziz Akhannouch.
The party emerged in January 1944 during the anti-colonial struggle against French and Spanish imperial rule, making it the oldest active political party in Morocco.
History and profile
Foundation
The Istiqlal Party was founded by former members of the in January 1944 or 1943. The Istiqlal held strongly Arab nationalist views and its nationalism was bourgeois and was opposed to traditional institutions. It functioned as the main political force struggling for the independence of Morocco. The initial goal stated in their manifesto was the independence from France “within the framework of a constitutional-democratic monarchy”. The leadership of Istiqlal was successful in overcoming “petty rivalries” between the different parties and anticolonial organizations and unifying the nationalist movement. This factor added to the campaign of Moroccan activists spread across the world and contributed to achieving international visibility and support for their cause.Transnational advocacy for independence
Establishing crucial contacts for advocating the Moroccan independence abroad happened in Tangier, since it was assigned as an international zone and thus under less influence of the French or Spanish. In Tangier Moroccan Nationalists established contact with Americans residing in Morocco, which among others provided US intelligence contacts. Outside of Morocco, important developments in advocating for Moroccan independence happened in Cairo, within the United Nations, and in Paris. Advocating in France was primarily focussed on communicating with French society, disseminating and exchanging information, and mobilizing students.After independence
However, once the country achieved independence in 1956, the party moved into opposition against the monarchy, which had asserted itself as the country's main political actor. It had to overcome some obstacles since the party, which had just achieved their common goal, was prone to fragmentation. There was a movement within the Istiqlal Party to unite Muslims and Jews called al-Wifaq, with prominent Jewish figures such as Armand Asoulin, David Azoulay, Marc Sabbagh, Joe Ohana, and Albert Aflalo.Between 1947 and 1956, the Istiqlal went through a period of significant expansion. In 1944, party membership was estimated at around three thousand later expanding to ten thousand in 1947 and after 1952, one hundred thousand. In the 50s, it eventually reached two hundred and fifty thousand members and by the early months of Moroccan independence, it reached 1.6 million members. After independence, al-Fassi was appointed secretary-general and later president for life of the Istiqlal. By 1956, two factions emerged within the Istiqlal: a left wing and right wing. In order to maintain its wavering dominance, the early Istiqlal-dominated government engaged in political repression which led to the anti-Istiqlal Rif Revolt. After the revolt, tensions began to grow in Moroccan society with much of the Moroccan population suffering from poverty and many opposing the continued presence of American military bases. This widened the gap between the two wings within the Istiqlal Party.
The right wing of the party was made up of older leaders like Allal al-Fassi, Ahmed Belafrej and Mohamed Lyazidi whilst the left wing was made up of leaders of the MLA and younger leaders associated with the Moroccan Workers' Union. It came to include Mehdi Ben Barka and Abderrahim Bouabid. The split was not just a disputes between personalities but was also about ideological differences. The left wing were democratic socialists who were believers in social welfare and state control of vital sectors of the economy. They opposed the presence of American military bases, advocated for the holding of popular elections and introducing limits to the power of the monarchy. The right wing, who made up the majority, were economically liberal and politically conservative. They supported the continued presence of American bases as the government needed economic assistance from the US. They also did not want to hold popular elections out of fear of losing their power.
By spring of 1958, Mohammed V had given into most of the demands of the Istiqlal and appointed Ahmed Balafrej prime minister and foreign minister and Abderrahim Bouabid minister of finances and economy whilst keeping palace men in other key posts but in the summer of that same year, the left wing broke with the conservative leadership with the left wing denouncing the Balafrej government and calling a wave of strikes. Bouabid later resigned after the Rif Revolt. At first, Muhammad V went to Allal al-Fassi to work out a truce among the Istiqlal's factions. When al-Fassi failed, Mohammed V lent his support to the left wing by appointing Moroccan Workers' Union leader Abdallah Ibrahim as prime minister. The king did this to encourage the split within the party. This plan was successful as it led to al-Fassi retiring from the party and the radical Ben Barka being excluded from the government. This eventually led to the formation of a new party led by Ben Barka called the National Union of Popular Forces.
Together with the leftist UNFP and later the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, the Istiqlal would form the backbone of the opposition to King Hassan II in the years to come. The Istiqlal party has taken part in many coalition governments from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. In 1998, together with the USFP inside the Koutla and other smaller parties, the Istiqlal formed the Alternance, the first political experience in the Arab World where the opposition assumed power through the ballots.
For the party's leader Allal El Fassi, a proponent of "Greater Morocco", Morocco's independence would not be complete without the liberation of all the territories that once were part of Morocco.
In January 2006, Istiqlal criticized Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's visit to the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the north African coast, reflecting its nationalist heritage.
Istiqlal won 52 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held on 7 September 2007, more than any other party, and subsequently the party's leader, Abbas El Fassi, was named Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI on 19 September 2007.
The party won 60 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held in November 2011, being the second party in the parliament.Abbas El Fassi resigned as Prime Minister 29 November 2011, and resigned as Secretary-General of Istiqlal on 23 September 2012, following Justice and Development Party victory in 2011 elections.
In September 2012, Hamid Chabat was elected secretary-general of the party succeeding Abbas El Fassi.
Development since 2016
In 2016, Istiqlal won 46 seats in parliamentary elections, a loss of 14 seats. The party joined the opposition.Istiqlal is a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democracy Union, and an associate member of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.
On October 7, 2017, Nizar Baraka was elected Secretary-General of the Istiqlal party, by 924 votes against 230 votes for his rival and outgoing secretary-general Hamid Chabat. King Mohammed VI expressed his congratulations to the new Istiqlal Party leader for the confidence placed in him by the members of the party’s national council.
The Istiqlal party won 81 seats in the 2021 parliamentary election, an increase of 35 seats since the last election, thus remaining the third largest party in the kingdom.