Arabic version: العدالة والتنمية المغربي يبحث عن دروس من هزيمة 2021
According to Al Jazeera, Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) is seeking to rebuild after its sharp electoral collapse in 2021. The party had won 107 of Parliament’s 395 seats in 2011 and increased that total to 125 in 2016, but fell to 13 seats in the September 2021 election. The National Rally of Independents won 102 seats and became the largest party.
Abdelilah Benkirane, who served as head of government from 2012 to 2017, again leads the PJD. Al Jazeera Studies described him as a political “brand”, citing his long public career, media presence and direct communication style. His visibility may help the party attract attention, but the PJD still faces the task of converting that attention into wider support.
The party’s 2026 programme lists 467 measures in five areas: identity and family; political and institutional reform; public services and social protection; the economy and employment; and foreign policy. It calls for transparency in public procurement, measures on conflicts of interest and illicit enrichment, and improvements to services. The programme also highlights prices, jobs, schools, hospitals, housing, social protection, food, water and energy sovereignty.
PJD representatives say the party has drawn lessons from 2021 through internal reorganisation and a more critical review of its time in government. Saad al-Sabahi said the programme was shaped through studies, consultation meetings and proposals submitted online. Youth members Imane Traifi and Yassine Elachiri said building trust with younger Moroccans requires sustained participation rather than campaign-time outreach.
The party is also campaigning against Morocco’s normalisation with Israel, while operating within a constitutional system in which the monarchy retains a central role in strategic decisions. Morocco restored diplomatic ties with Israel in December 2020, while the PJD was in government. On September 16, Morocco and Israel agreed to raise their diplomatic missions to embassy level, appoint ambassadors and expand cooperation. The following day, the PJD reaffirmed its opposition to normalisation.
