Hassan Al-Omrani torches the bases of Morocco's Justice and Development Party
The Moroccan Justice and Development Party (PJD) in the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region claims that the regional secretary Hassan Al-Omrani immediately expelled the party members from the Sidi Azouz region in the Sidi Kacem region preventing them from participating in future regional meetings.
The move provoked outrage in the party's regional offices, which “characterized this decision as reactionary and authoritarian, an abuse of responsibility and a vertical infection by revenge.” The local PJD office in Sidi Azouz was left "unhappy” by Hassan Al-Omrani's illegal decision. "Because of an illegal decision issued by Hassan Al-Omrani, according to which all party members in the group, as well as those elected on behalf of the party, with the exception of this one, cannot participate in future regional party conferences.”
“The regional secretary violated all laws governing party work, internal order and ethics, put the date of the party congress on the tram and usurped the functions of an elected regional secretary,” the report says. This decision was taken on the eve of the meeting of the National Council (Party Council) of the Justice and Development Party, which will take place on January 13 and 14 at the Moulay Rachid International Complex for Children and Youth in Bouznika.
Official statement from the office of Sidi Kacem
In parallel, the regional office of Sidi Kacem strongly condemned "the weak actions and dictatorial decisions of the regional secretary who does not represent the PJD at all, as well as the management or ethics of the institution.” However, there was no statement from the party's central leadership.
In a statement, the party's regional office called the regional secretary's decision “a deception and misappropriation of the selected functions of the regional editorial office, which clearly violates all laws, internal order and ethics governing the party's activity.” He then expressed his displeasure by saying, "These actions are against the honor of the party and, moreover, illegal and immoral actions such as the system of absolute power inevitably lead to absolute corruption.”
He mentioned maximum balance and renewal. Several local leaders of the Sidi Kacem PJD are demanding an investigation into the manipulation of public funds following a scandal in which the Justice, Registration and Development Agent improperly withdrew large sums of money from the party's accounts. According to the latest report of the Accountant General of the Supreme Court, local and covert activities were carried out in the 2021 local and national elections.
Consequences of the conflict
“This behavior shows the unstable state of the party as a whole, especially after the old elites left the political organization,” political scientist Hisham Amiri, an expert on government affairs in Morocco, told Al-Arab. For Amiri, these conflicts are showing the public the problems that exist in relation to the distribution and formation of the new elites.
Sharifa Lemuir, a researcher in political science and constitutional law, ignored that expanding the reach of the opposition is a door to weaken the party, not only at the local level but also at the national level. He added that there is no clear political leadership and this is reflected in the growing discontent within the party and the insular attitude of local and national party officials”.
Such practices reveal weaknesses in the organizational structure and thus undermine the main partisan phenomenon that the party spreads widely, considering that the party constitutes an important part of the country's power.
Hassan Al-Omrani defended himself by saying that “it was not his responsibility to limit the rules, but the responsibility of the expert committee that made this decision.” Meanwhile, a party source in Sidi Kacem province told Al-Arab that they plan to take revenge on all members, even if they disagree with the local leadership.