Popular Movement (Morocco)

Popular Movement
Amussu Aɣerfan
الحركة الشعبية
Mouvement populaire
General Secretary Mohand Laenser
Founder Abdelkrim al-Khatib
Founded 1957 (1957)
Headquarters 66 rue Patrice Lumumba, Rabat, Morocco
Ideology Royalism[1]
Agrarianism
Conservative liberalism
Political position Centre to Centre-right
International affiliation Liberal International
Regional affiliation Africa Liberal Network
House of Representatives
27 / 395
Website
www.alharaka.ma

The Popular Movement (Berber: Amussu Aɣerfan, Arabic: الحركة الشعبية‎‎, French: Mouvement populaire) is a royalist and traditionalist rural-focused political party in Morocco. It is a member of Liberal International.

History

The Popular Movement was founded in 1958[2] by the Berber tribal chief Mahjoubi Aherdane with help from Abdelkrim al-Khatib who founded later a splinter party (Mouvement populaire démocratique et constitutionnel) that became the Justice and Development Party. It was initially a rural party with conservative and tribal orientation,[3] that unconditionally supported the monarchy[4] and aimed at countering nationalist Istiqlal Party.[3] Although the party has been dominated by Tamazight (Berber) speakers, it has not developed a distinct Berber agenda.[5]

The present party results from a 25 March 2006 merger between the main party which had kept the original name and two splinter parties, the National Popular Movement (Mouvement National Populaire, Alharaka alwatania ashaabia) and the Democratic Union (Union démocratique).[6][7]

The party is a full member of Liberal International, which it joined at the latter's Dakar Congress in 2003.[8]

In the parliamentary election held on 27 September 2002, the party won 27 out of the total 325 seats. It improved its standing in the parliamentary election held on 7 September 2007, winning 41 out of 325 seats.[9]

The party won 32 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held in November 2011, being the sixth party in the parliament.[10]

Electoral results

Moroccan Parliament

House of Representatives
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Leader
1963* 1,159,932 (#1) 34.8
69 / 144
–
Ahmed Bahnini
1970 ? (#1) 25.0
60 / 240
Decrease 4
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
1977 738,541 (#2) 14.64
15 / 264
Decrease 45
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
1984 695,020 (#3) 15.54
47 / 301
Increase 32
Abdelkrim al-Khatib
1993 751,864 (#5) 12.1
51 / 333
Increase 4
Mohand Laenser
1997 659,331 (#4) 10.3
40 / 325
Decrease 11
Mohand Laenser
2002 ? (#5) 8.31
27 / 325
Decrease 13
Mohand Laenser
2007 426,849 (#3) 9.3
41 / 325
Increase 14
Mohand Laenser
2011 354,468 (#6) 7.5
32 / 395
Decrease 11
Mohand Laenser
2016 (#5) 6.08
27 / 395
Decrease 5
Mohand Laenser
Notes

References

  1. ↑ Willis, Michael J. (2012), Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring, C. Hurst & Co., p. 125
  2. ↑ "Organizations". Maroc. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 James N. Sater (2012), "New wine in old bottles: Political parties under Mohammed VI", Contemporary Morocco: State, Politics and Society under Mohammed VI, Routledge, p. 11
  4. ↑ Marvine Howe (2005), Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges, Oxford University Press, p. 99
  5. ↑ Michael J. Willis (2008), "The Politics of Berber (Amazight) Identity: Algeria and Morocco Compared", North Africa: Politics, Region, and the Limits of Transformation, Routledge, p. 233
  6. ↑ M’Hamed Hamrouch, Mahjoubi Aherdane accusé d’avoir provoqué le retrait du MP du gouvernement, Aujourd'hui Le Maroc, 19 October 2008
  7. ↑ Hicham Bennani, Mouvement populaire: Prémices d’un éclatement, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, 11 April 2009
  8. ↑ Entry on the Popular Movement Liberal International.
  9. ↑ "Moroccans favor conservative party instead of ushering in Islamic party", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 9 September 2007.
  10. ↑ "Morocco". European Forum. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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