Morocco’s political chessboard has shifted again. The Justice and Development Party (PJD), the Islamist-leaning formation long associated with former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, now finds itself relegated to second place within the opposition benches of the House of Representatives, after the National Rally of Independents (RNI) opted to sit in opposition rather than join the new ruling majority.
The reshuffle follows the formation of a new government led by the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), under incoming head of government Fatima Zahra Mansouri. The PJD had hoped to claim the mantle of leading opposition force, banking on the parliamentary experience it accumulated since losing power. But the RNI’s unexpected move into opposition, led by Aziz Akhannouch, has upended that calculation almost overnight.
The practical consequence was immediate: the PJD lost the chairmanship of the Justice, Legislation, Human Rights and Freedoms Committee, a post that passed to the RNI under the parliamentary convention allocating committee leadership by numerical weight. The loss is as symbolic as it is strategic, curbing the PJD’s ability to shape debate on sensitive files touching civil liberties and judicial reform.
That leaves the PJD facing an uncomfortable choice. It could coordinate informally with the RNI to present a united front against the governing coalition, a tactical alliance that risks alienating a grassroots base still smarting from the party’s own repeated attacks on Akhannouch in recent years. Alternatively, it could go it alone, a path that risks leaving it isolated with diminished real influence over legislative proceedings.
For seasoned observers of Moroccan politics, the episode underscores just how fluid parliamentary alliances have become, with tactical arithmetic increasingly outweighing ideological lines in shaping who sits where. Whether the PJD can turn this demotion into a springboard for rebuilding its standing, or whether it marks a further step in its institutional decline, remains an open question. The upcoming parliamentary session, set to open within days, will offer the first real test of this newly reshuffled landscape.
