Morocco’s PJD Seeks Comeback After 2021 Election Rout

Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD), which suffered a dramatic collapse in the 2021 parliamentary elections, is attempting to rebuild its political standing under the leadership of Abdelilah Benkirane, according to a report published by Al Jazeera.

The PJD, which describes itself as a party with an Islamic reference, had previously led Morocco’s government for a decade before its support collapsed at the ballot box in 2021. Al Jazeera’s report examines what lessons the party may have drawn from that defeat as it seeks to regain public trust.

Benkirane, a former prime minister and long-serving figure within the party, is now guiding efforts to reposition the PJD, the report says, though details of the specific strategies or reforms being pursued were not fully outlined in the available excerpt of the report.

The 2021 elections marked a significant reversal for the PJD, which had governed Morocco since 2011 following a period of political change in the region. The party’s steep decline in that vote was widely seen as one of the most notable shifts in recent Moroccan politics.

Al Jazeera’s report frames the party’s current efforts as part of a broader question of whether the PJD can recover the confidence of voters after its setback, though it does not specify a timeline for elections or outline particular policy changes the party may be considering.

Further details on the party’s internal changes, its relationship with the current government, or specific plans for future electoral contests were not included in the available material.