Abdelatif Wahbi, Secretary-General of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, said that “Political parties today must understand that we are facing a national issue that requires all of us to prioritize the interests of the nation and its citizens,” emphasizing that “we are now united in a national consensus, all rallying behind His Majesty King Mohammed VI to lead the nation out of this crisis, which will result in severe economic conditions in the future.”
During his appearance as a guest on the Al-Faqih Al-Tetouani Foundation’s live broadcast to discuss the topic “Political Parties and Current Issues” on Saturday, April 11, 2020, Wahbi said: “As the opposition, our national duty requires us not to abandon our role in the opposition, but rather to partially suspend it in the service of the nation as we confront the deadly ‘Corona’ pandemic,” explaining, “Our national duty makes us fully prepared to sacrifice anything in order to support the political decisions that will lead our country out of these circumstances with the least possible losses.”
“The PAM has stated from day one,” adds Wahbi, “that it supports the state and stands behind it as it carries out its duties to combat this pandemic and limit its spread. That is why we have urged citizens to respect the precautionary measures issued by the authorities,” He emphasized, “The Authenticity and Modernity Party is in constant contact with a number of political parties, including the Justice and Development Party, the Progress and Socialism Party, and the Independence Party, to discuss how to tackle this pandemic and the measures we will take in the future to limit its negative effects. We are also discussing the details of the upcoming elections.”
Regarding the Moroccan economy, the Secretary-General of the PAM said “Our economy has so far been able to absorb the shock caused by the pandemic and weather it thanks to the solidarity and cooperation of the Moroccan people and their King,” emphasizing that the decisions taken at the economic level have confirmed that Morocco possesses significant capabilities to manage the country’s economy and weather the crisis, which is a very positive sign, according to the same spokesperson.
“Our political system has made us a force capable of managing the crisis wisely,” adds Abdellatif Wahbi, “because historical and political legitimacy have enabled us to handle matters with a sense of national consensus between the state and political parties, which is a positive factor that has facilitated and accelerated the decision-making process.” He believes that this crisis has demonstrated that Morocco is an economically and politically cohesive force capable of facing the challenges it will encounter in the future.”.
Regarding the contribution made by the PAM to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abdellatif Wahbi explained that the party contributed one month’s worth of its annual public funding to the special fund established to manage the pandemic, The party’s parliamentarians also contributed one month’s worth of their allowances, in addition to activists who, each from their own position, helped mitigate the effects of this pandemic. In this regard, he said, “There are activists in a number of regions who have undertaken outstanding initiatives, such as allocating 20 million dirhams and providing 10,000 food baskets to assist needy families—a process distributed through public authorities so that no one can accuse us of exploiting the situation for electoral purposes,” adding “This is only a small part of the aid provided by the party’s activists, who refrain from publicizing it in the media or revealing the names of those who received it.”
Sarah Al-Ramshi
