{"id":2766,"date":"2025-04-17T07:35:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T07:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=2766"},"modified":"2025-04-17T10:56:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T10:56:50","slug":"is-moroccan-democracy-being-stolen-in-broad-daylight-benkirane-reveals-and-the-state-remains-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/is-moroccan-democracy-being-stolen-in-broad-daylight-benkirane-reveals-and-the-state-remains-silent\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Moroccan Democracy Being Stolen in Broad Daylight? Benkirane Reveals\u2026 and the State Remains Silent!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"255\" data-end=\"703\">In a new appearance\u2014shocking, bold, and at times provocative\u2014Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), returns to the forefront of Morocco&#8217;s political scene. This time not only as the leader of an opposition party but as an &#8220;insider witness&#8221; firing strong accusations at everything: the government, territorial administration, electoral mechanisms, and even the credibility of the democratic process itself.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"705\" data-end=\"776\">Authority Agents Begging Citizens: \u201cPlease don\u2019t vote for the PJD\u201d!?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"778\" data-end=\"1073\">The accusation is shocking, unprecedented, and potentially consequential. When a former head of government claims that local authority agents were begging citizens not to vote for the PJD, this is no longer a mere political comment, but a direct denunciation of manipulation of the popular will.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"778\" data-end=\"1073\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x6ikm8r x10wlt62\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBenkiranab%2Fvideos%2F4031606767099658%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1472\"><strong data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1104\">But the real question is:<\/strong> Is Benkirane describing an objective reality? Or is this yet another narrative of political victimhood that his party adopts every time it suffers electoral losses?<br data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1272\" \/>And more importantly, where does the Ministry of Interior stand in relation to these accusations? Will a public investigation be opened? Or will silence, once again, be the default political response?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1474\" data-end=\"1550\">\u201cWorld Cup Government\u201d or the King\u2019s Government? Who really governs 2030?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1552\" data-end=\"1763\">Perhaps the most striking statement by Benkirane was when he said: \u201cThe government that will manage 2030 is that of His Majesty the King,\u201d asserting that it has nothing to do with Aziz Akhannouch or his cabinet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1765\" data-end=\"1979\">A statement that highlights what some analysts describe as the return of a <strong data-start=\"1840\" data-end=\"1870\">vertical governance system<\/strong>, where the government is reduced to an administrative executor of projects decided within the royal circles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1981\" data-end=\"2185\">But then, a pressing question arises:<br data-start=\"2018\" data-end=\"2021\" \/><strong data-start=\"2021\" data-end=\"2102\">If the 2030 government is merely an executor, what is the point of elections?<\/strong><br data-start=\"2102\" data-end=\"2105\" \/>Are we witnessing a true democratic process, or merely a controlled performance?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2187\" data-end=\"2249\">The Past Never Dies: Benkirane evokes Basri\u2026 in \u201csoft\u201d form<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2251\" data-end=\"2489\">In a rare moment of bitter clarity, Benkirane stated: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to return to the days of Driss Basri, but some signs are reappearing.\u201d<br data-start=\"2390\" data-end=\"2393\" \/>An implicit admission that political control never disappeared\u2014it merely changed form and tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2491\" data-end=\"2804\">Are we now living in an era of <strong data-start=\"2522\" data-end=\"2549\">\u201csoft authoritarianism\u201d<\/strong>, where decisions are made behind the scenes, far from public scrutiny?<br data-start=\"2620\" data-end=\"2623\" \/>And do political actors, including Benkirane himself, truly have the courage to confront this system head-on? Or are they merely playing rehearsed roles in a script already written?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2806\" data-end=\"2875\">\u201cWhoever enters politics with money is either a trader or a thief\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2877\" data-end=\"2927\">Perhaps Benkirane\u2019s most stinging statement was:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"2928\" data-end=\"2998\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2930\" data-end=\"2998\">\u201cHe who enters politics with money can only be a trader or a thief.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3000\" data-end=\"3256\">A barely veiled attack against his political rival Aziz Akhannouch\u2014unnamed, but unmistakable.<br data-start=\"3093\" data-end=\"3096\" \/>So, has political money become the true player in Moroccan public life? Have elections turned into a marketplace where votes are bought and principles are sold?<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3258\" data-end=\"3359\">Where are the oversight institutions? Who ensures transparency? Who questions? Who holds accountable?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3361\" data-end=\"3411\">Protest Speech\u2026 or Political Comeback Strategy?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3413\" data-end=\"3650\">This may be the heart of the matter.<br data-start=\"3449\" data-end=\"3452\" \/>Is Benkirane genuinely sounding an alarm to save what remains of the democratic process?<br data-start=\"3540\" data-end=\"3543\" \/>Or is it a calculated speech, aimed at rallying his base and preparing the ground for a political comeback?<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3652\" data-end=\"3882\">And above all, why does this same narrative resurface after every electoral setback?<br data-start=\"3736\" data-end=\"3739\" \/>How long will institutions remain deaf to such warnings?<br data-start=\"3795\" data-end=\"3798\" \/>And if nothing changes&#8230; is it still meaningful to speak of democratic alternation?<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"fpjlL1w-pWE\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0642\u0631\u0628\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0628\u064a\u0646 \u0628\u0646 \u0643\u064a\u0631\u0627\u0646 \u0648 \u0623\u062e\u0646\u0648\u0634 \u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0632\u0645\u064a \u064a\u0631\u062f \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062a\u0635\u0631\u064a\u062d\u0627\u062a \u0645\u0635\u0637\u0641\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0645\u064a\u062f\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fpjlL1w-pWE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a new appearance\u2014shocking, bold, and at times provocative\u2014Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), returns to the forefront of Morocco&#8217;s political scene. This time not only as the leader of an opposition party but as an &#8220;insider witness&#8221; firing strong accusations at everything: the government, territorial administration, electoral mechanisms, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,76,66],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-the-maghreb","9":"category-video"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2768,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2766\/revisions\/2768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}