The Party of Justice and Development and Islamist Civil Society in Morocco: Different Paths to a Common Trajectory in Kenitra

Despite being allowed to participate in institutional politics as a ‘loyal opposition’ party since 1996 (Zeghal, 2005), the Moroccan Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) has had to self-limit its political activity in order to be tolerated by the Moroccan regime (Willis, 2004). However, as a consequence of the regional Arab uprisings of 2011, the PJD was allowed to join the official political game at the highest level as it was the only political party which, at that time, enjoyed a considerable degree of legitimacy vis-à-vis Moroccan voters. The PJD’s internal democratic dynamic and the popular support it enjoys are, so far, precisely what differentiates the PJD from the rest of the Moroccan political landscape. Indeed, the party can rely on, but at the same time is accountable to its grassroots, which often operates under the ‘civil society’ label. Using the case study of the town of Kenitra, where the PJD won the last municipal elections and dominates the municipal council, this paper examines the PJD's dual political engagement and the relations between the party and its civil society associations. This demonstrates how the party and the associations share different tasks in order to advance the party’s agenda. The paper is divided in two parts. It begins by analyzing how the PJD is able to successfully confront the administrative provincial authorities, that are not accountable to the elected ones, thanks to the role played by its ‘civil society wing’. It argues that the PJD in Kenitra has been able to successfully confront the local administrative authorities as a result of the role played by its ‘civil society wing’. In the second part, the paper explores how a significant portion of the PJD's membership is derived from civil society activism and the significance of this for the party's success.