The Istiqlal Party ( ar, حزب الإستقلال, translit=Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, lit=Independence Party; french: Parti Istiqlal; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ) is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. It is a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and
monarchist
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
party and a member of the
Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...
and
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an international alliance of centre-right political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, ...
. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under
Abbas El Fassi
Abbas El Fassi (; ar, عباس الفاسي; born 18 September 1940) was Moroccan politician and businessman, prime minister of Morocco from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. El Fassi, a member of the Istiqlal Party, replaced independent D ...
from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. From 2013 to 2021, it was part of the opposition. Since 2021 it is part of a coalition government led by
Aziz Akhannouch
Aziz Akhannouch (; ; born 1961) is a Moroccan politician, businessman, and billionaire who is currently the Prime Minister of Morocco since his government took office on 7 October 2021. He is the CEO of Akwa Group and also served as Minister of A ...
.
The party emerged in the anti-colonial struggle against French and Spanish imperial rule.
History and profile
![Balafrej2wiki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Balafrej2wiki.png)
The party was founded in April 1937
as the National Party for Istiqlal, and became the Istiqlal Party 10 December 1943.
Istiqlal held strongly
Arab nationalist views and was the main political force struggling for the independence of Morocco. The party was often critical of the ruling monarchy, after being instrumental in gaining independence from
French colonialism. Independence was achieved in 1956, and the party then moved into opposition against the monarchy, which had asserted itself as the country's main political actor.
There was a movement within the Istiqlal Party to unite Muslims and
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
called ''
al-Wifaq'' (), with prominent Jewish figures such as Armand Asoulin, David Azoulay, Marc Sabbagh, Joe O’Hana, and Albert Aflalo.
Together with the leftist
National Union of Popular Forces
The National Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الوطني للقوات الشعبية; , UNFP) was founded in 1959 in Morocco by Mehdi Ben Barka and his entourage, because they found that the Istiqlal Party was not radical enough.
E ...
(UNFP), which split from Istiqlal in 1959, and later the
Socialist Union of Popular Forces
The Socialist Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية, translit=Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah; zgh, ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳ ...
(USFP), the Istiqlal would form the backbone of the opposition to King
Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
* Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...
in the years to come. The Istiqlal party has taken part in many coalition governments from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. In 1998, together with the USFP inside the
Koutla
The Koutla (; ) is a political coalition between three Moroccan parties: the centre-right Istiqlal Party (PI), the centre-left Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), and the left-wing Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS). The alliance was ini ...
and other smaller parties, the Istiqlal formed the Alternance, the first political experience in the
Arab World
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
where the opposition assumed power through the ballots.
For the party's leader
Allal El Fassi
Muhammad Allal al-Fassi (ⵄⵍⵍⴰⵍ ⵍⴼⴰⵙⵉ) (January 10, 1910 – May 13, 1974), was a Moroccan politician, writer, poet and Islamic scholar.
Politics
He was born in Fes, Morocco. He studied at the University of Al-Qarawiyyin. Fo ...
, a proponent of "
Greater Morocco
Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, Portuguese, Algerian and French rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Curre ...
", Morocco's independence would not be complete without the liberation of all the territories that once were part of Morocco.
In January 2006, Istiqlal criticized
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
's visit to the Spanish cities of
Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
and
Melilla on the north African coast, reflecting its nationalist heritage.
Istiqlal won 52 out of 325 seats in the
parliamentary election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 7 September 2007, more than any other party,
["Morocco's king names new PM"](_blank)
''Xinhua'', 20 September 2007. and subsequently the party's leader,
Abbas El Fassi
Abbas El Fassi (; ar, عباس الفاسي; born 18 September 1940) was Moroccan politician and businessman, prime minister of Morocco from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. El Fassi, a member of the Istiqlal Party, replaced independent D ...
, was named Prime Minister by King
Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to:
* Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902
* Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922
* Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد الساد ...
on 19 September 2007.
The party won 60 out of 325 seats in the
parliamentary election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in November 2011, being the second party in the parliament.
![Istiqlal (111)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Istiqlal_%28111%29.JPG)
Abbas El Fassi resigned as Prime Minister 29 November 2011, and resigned as Secretary-General of Istiqlal on 23 September 2012, following
Justice and Development Party victory in 2011 elections.
In September 2012,
Hamid Chabat
Hamid Chabat ( ar, حميد شباط – born 17 August 1953, Taza Province) is a Moroccan politician and the previous Secretary-General of the Istiqlal Party. Hamid Chabat has been the mayor of Fes since October 2003 and was elected on 23 ...
was elected secretary-general of the party succeeding Abbas El Fassi.
In 2016, Istiqlal won 46 seats in
parliamentary elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, a loss of 14 seats. The party joined the opposition.
Istiqlal is a member of the
Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...
and
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an international alliance of centre-right political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, ...
, and an associate member of the
Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.
On October 7, 2017,
Nizar Baraka
Nizar Baraka (born 6 February 1964) is a Moroccan politician and businessman of the Istiqlal Party. He is the grandson of nationalist Allal Al Fassi.
He was Minister of Economy and Finance in the government of Abdelilah Benkirane.
Baraka holds ...
was elected Secretary-General of the Istiqlal party, by 924 votes against 230 votes for his rival and outgoing secretary-general Hamid Chabat.
Electoral performance
House of Representatives
References
External links
Official siteofficial website in french
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istiqlal Party
1944 establishments in Morocco
Conservative parties in Africa
Monarchist parties
Moroccan nationalism
Arab nationalism
Nationalist parties in Africa
Arab nationalist political parties
Political parties established in 1944
Political parties in Morocco
Social conservative parties