Video – Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi Guest of famous Al Sharq TV program « Al Madar »

Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi was last Friday, November 19, 2021, the guest of Al Sharq famous TV program called “Al Madar” in which he talked about several hot topics concerning the Moroccan Islamic movement PJD setback in the latest elections; democratic process in Morocco and the three fundamentals in Morocco’s politics based on Islam, the Monarchy and territorial integrity; the current government coalition and Morocco’s consensus around the Monarchy; the big project of the judiciary apparatus reform in Morocco; the government full action to complete the vaccination program to reach collective immunity and finally Morocco’s position towards some foreign policy current issues namely Spain, Algeria and Libya.

Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi elaborated on the question about the Moroccan Islamic movement PJD which lasted 10 year in power stating that “there’s no storm to justify the PJD setback in the latest elections, but simply there’s democracy at work, a democratic practice that brings a party to power and sends it back to the opposition, this is democracy and we, in Morocco, have accepted its results that’s why elections have occurred in an excellent atmosphere… We, in Morocco, have accepted the consensus and have accepted the basic fundamentals in Morocco; we are happy to see a successful democracy and there’s a kind of alternation of roles in Morocco’s politics as being imposed by democracy”.

​Minister Ouahbi asserted that “the main goal of democracy is to meet the Moroccan people’s aspirations and expectations which grow on daily basis and we pray Allah (God) to help us fulfill those hopes… the Moroccan people has moved its trust from the PJD to us (as the current coalition). The PJD came in and went out through ballots and Morocco is committed to democracy and has practiced its rules and this is the top of legitimacy”. Morocco’s democratic experience is rich based on a constitution, run by state institutions, political parties institutions and a large accumulation of experiences and dynamism all this makes of Morocco a country where democracy is practiced according to the constitution.. The palace, as a Moroccan institution, is playing its role of a referee in the limits circumscribed by the constitution; the presence of Islamists (the PJD) in power has not undermined the country’s stability and the King himself was the most determined among persons to help make the Islamist government experience a successful one”.

Minister Ouahbi asserted that “in the next coming days we will issue what we call the government’s “majority charter”; we will not waste time in internal political differences but will endeavor to protect Morocco’s democracy.. Opposition parties in Morocco have their own historical asset and will play a strong role in Morocco’s political scene”. The Minister stressed that “the current government coalition is very homogenous”.

Regarding Islamists movements setback throughout the Arab word, Minister Ouahbi stated that “Islamists movements have collided with democracy in the Arab world unlike Christian Democrats in Europe who have integrated democratic practice.. and as you know there are conservatives and liberals trends in the Islamic world, there’s s conflict between those two trends particularly between the liberals and conservatives as there are different scholars, there is Ibn Sina and Ibn Rochd, there is Ghazali, so you have different trends in thinking . Moroccans have always had a culture of consensus and the culture of finding common solutions and coexistence and this coexistence culture in Morocco was reflected in its political experience; there’s consensus between Islamists and other political parties regarding the relationships with the state and the utmost goal among us liberals, socialists and Islamists is to build a strong democratic state”.

Responding to a question about the government’s program and the issue of holding two positions by some ministers, Minister Ouahbi said “The state has done a tremendous effort at the level of various Moroccan regions and has created a dynamic institutional regional system … and we have defined many big projects, discussed financial means and fund resources among us to achieve those goals and we will surprise everybody”.

On the Ministry of Justice reform, Minister Ouahbi stated “I am as a Minister and along with the support of resourceful executives at the Ministry of Justice we have embarked on the achievement of many big projects aimed at reforming the judiciary apparatus system including police custody improvement, medical check-ups, the penal code and most particularly the big promising project of moving on to digitalize the Ministry of Justice entire system so that we get rid of papers once and for all and this will be a kind of a first experience; all those means will guarantee the justice system independence, the protection of accused individuals, and protection of women from violence”.

On the PAM achievements in the latest elections, Minister Ouahbi asserted that “The PAM has achieved a great deal of things after it has overcome several internal crises and me as the Secretary General, I have implemented my party’s desire and decision to join the government”.

“We have succeeded in Morocco to vaccinate about 26 million people which is something great and our role to bring the number even higher in order to reach a collective immunity in Morocco”.

Regarding the very last question about Morocco’s foreign policy main issues namely Spain, Algeria and Libya, Minister Ouahbi stated “Morocco’s main issue right now is the internal economic condition, how to fulfill the promises we have made to the Moroccan people; As regard to Spain, we have no problem we have worked to settle down the problem; with Algeria, we have no time to waste, we have to get involved and interested in our democracy and with ourselves and with Libya, it’s a friendly country and we would like to see the problems being solved in that county which we respect”.