Morocco’s King congratulates new PJD secretary general
King Mohammed VI sent a message of congratulations to Abdelilah Benkirane on the occasion of his election as secretary general of the Justice and Development Party (PJD).
In this message, King Mohammed VI expresses his congratulations to Abdelilah Benkirane for the confidence placed in him by the party’s extraordinary national congress and which illustrates the esteem he enjoys among the activists of this political formation, given his distinguished partisan background and his recognized human qualities and political skills, as well as his characteristic spirit of responsibility and his attachment to the sacredness of the Nation.
The sovereign wished Benkirane success in his responsibility as the party’s leader, in order to consolidate the party’s position on the national partisan scene, to continue his constructive contribution, alongside serious national parties, to the new stage inaugurated by the Kingdom, with what it entails as development challenges and decisive external challenges, while ensuring that the supreme interests of the homeland are permanently placed above all other considerations.
King Mohammed VI instructed Abdelilah Benkirane to convey his marks of esteem to his predecessor Saâd-Eddine El Othmani and to all members of the PJD.
Benkirane, a popular figure in Moroccan politics, had served as the PJD secretary general twice between 2008 and 2017 and was also Morocco’s head of government from November 2011 to April 2017.
He reclaimed the leadership of the PJD following the party’s heavy loss in the September 8, 2021 general elections, where it won only 13 parliamentary seats, down from the 107 seats in the 2016 elections that enabled it to rule the government coalition for a decade.
Following this defeat, the members of PJD secretariat general, led by the secretary general of this formation Saad Dine El Otmani, had submitted their collective resignation, and called for holding an extraordinary national congress.
The extraordinary national congress convened Saturday Oct.30 elected Benkirane as new Secretary general.
