Istiqlal Party

The Istiqlal or Independence Party (Arabic: حزب الإستقلال Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, French: Parti de l'Istiqlal) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democrat Union. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under Abbas El Fassi from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. Since 2013, it has been the official opposition.

For other uses, see Istiqlal Party (disambiguation).
Istiqlal Party

حزب الاستقلال
Parti de l'Istiqlal
General SecretaryNizar Baraka
FounderAhmed Balafrej
FoundedApril 1937 (1937-04)[1]
Headquarters4, rue Ibn Toumert, Rabat
NewspaperAl Alam (Arab)
L'Opinion (French)
IdeologyConservatism
Islamic Democracy
Moroccan nationalism
Monarchism
Political positionCentre-right
European affiliationEuropean People’s Party (regional partner)
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
Centrist Democrat International
African affiliationDemocrat Union of Africa
House of Representatives
46 / 395
House of Councillors
24 / 120
Website
istiqlal.info
Istiqlal office of the Al-Fida Derb-Soltane district, Casablanca

The party emerged in the anti-colonial struggle against French imperial rule.[2][3][4]

History and profile

The party was founded in April 1937[1] as the National Party for Istiqlal, and became the Istiqlal Party 10 December 1943.[5][6] Istiqlal held strongly nationalist views and was the main political force struggling for the independence of Morocco. The party was often critical of the ruling monarchy, after being instrumental in gaining independence from French colonialism. Independence was achieved in 1956, and the party then moved into opposition against the monarchy, which had asserted itself as the country's main political actor. Together with the leftist National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), which split from Istiqlal in 1959, and later the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), 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,[7] and subsequently the party's leader, Abbas El Fassi, was named Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI on 19 September 2007.[7][8]

The party won 60 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held in November 2011, being the second party in the parliament.[9]

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.

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 Democrat 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.

Electoral performance
Year Number of votes Percentage of votes Seats in the
House of Representatives		 Position in Parliament
1963
1,000,506
30.0
41 / 144
1970
boycotted
boycotted
8 / 240
1977
1,090,960
21.62
51 / 264
 Opposition
1984
681,083
15.33
40 / 301
 Opposition
1993
760,082
12.2
52 / 333
 Opposition
1997
840,315
13.8
32 / 325
 Part of the government
2002
14.77
48 / 325
 Part of the government
2007
494,256
10.7
52 / 325
 Leading the government under Abbas El Fassi
2011
562,720
11.9
60 / 395
 Part of the government until October 2013
2016
11.65
46 / 395
 Opposition

References
  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA607
  2. Lawrence, Adria K. (2017). "Repression and Activism among the Arab Spring's First Movers: Evidence from Morocco's February 20th Movement". British Journal of Political Science. 47 (3): 699–718. doi:10.1017/S0007123415000733. ISSN 0007-1234.
  3. Lawrence, Adria (2013), "Nationalist Mobilization in Colonial Morocco", Imperial Rule and the Politics of Nationalism: Anti-Colonial Protest in the French Empire, Cambridge University Press, pp. 166–213, ISBN 978-1-107-03709-0, retrieved 26 September 2020
  4. Joffé, E. G. H. (1985). "The Moroccan Nationalist Movement: Istiqlal, the Sultan, and the Country*". The Journal of African History. 26 (4): 289–307. doi:10.1017/S0021853700028759. ISSN 1469-5138.
  5. "Moroccan human rights groups". Amnesty International. 1991. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  6. "Moroccan Political Parties". Riad Reviews. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  7. "Morocco's king names new PM", Xinhua, 20 September 2007.
  8. "El Fassi named Moroccan prime minister", Associated Press (Jerusalem Post), 20 September 2007.
  9. "Morocco". European Forum. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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