Controversy – PJD Ministers denounce Benkirane’s interference with El Othmani government’s decisions
Protests erupt amid political crisis. A half-dozen PJD ministers on Friday denounced Benkirane’s protest upon the government’s approval of the bill on legalising cannabis in Morocco.
In this context, Former Moroccan PM and PJD militant, Abdelilah Benkirane, revealed earlier that he is likely to suspend his membership within the party, and severe his ties with fellow companions, Saadeddine Otmani, Mustapha Ramid, Lahcen Daoudi, Abdelaziz Rebbah and Mohamed Amekraz.
Benkirane’s decision in this regard, however, did not include all PJD Ministers, even though the bill was approved unanimously.
Benkirane has also stated that former Minister, Lahcen Daoudi, shall be blacklisted, for the latter has openly defended the bill on legalizing cannabis in his press release to Moroccan weekly newspaper “Al-Ayam”, noting that cannabis is actually a misused national wealth.
+ The PJD political structure is torn +
In this regard, PJD members and current ministers wondered why hasn’t Benkirane suspended his membership within the party upon resuming relations with Israel, claiming that the latter is obviously making such threats to settle scores with his political counterparts.
Moreover, the same source noted that Brnkirane tended to suspend relations with only those who were opposed to electing him for a third term as PJD Secretary General.
It is noteworthy that PJD’s structures are torn between supporting the bill on cannabis, or simply denounce it, provided that Benkirane’s supporters call for opening a public discussion over the matter, while Ramid’s associative officials strongly advocate legalizing the medical use of cannabis.
For his part, PJD’s deputy secretary-general, Slimane El Omrani, acknowledged the party’s inner conflicts over the bill on cannabis; however, he refused to reveal whether his party will vote in favor of the bill in question when referred to the parliament.
On the other hand, several PJD officials, including Morocco’s PM, have shown no objection to the bill on cannabis, despite their party’s unclear position in this regard.
However, in order to contain the party’s internal crisis, PJD’s council bureau decided to hold an extraordinary session, on the 20th and 21st of this month.
During the session, PJD shall also discuss the resignation request submitted by Idriss Azami Al Idrissi, as well as other related political developments that still need to be addressed accordingly.
