Some wonder about the reasons that have so far hindered the holding of the Executive Committee of the Istiqlal, the party’s high decision-making body, whose work has not been held for several weeks under the chairmanship of the secretary general, Nizar Baraka.
This long delay, about which the leadership of the Istiqlal party still remains silent, has not escaped activists who put forward various explanations. The most widespread is linked to the consequences of the standoff between the current “Bila Hawada” embodied by Abdelouahed El Fassi, son of the historic leader Allal El Fassi, and that of Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid, a great figure of the Moroccan Sahara who succeeded to swell the ranks of Sahrawi elected officials and activists within this nationalist party.
The tensions, patent between these two currents, had surfaced, and in public, last February, when Abdelouahed El Fassi, unenthusiastic about the rise of the Ould Errachid movement within the Istiqlal, left the shadow by making “very harsh” remarks against the clan of Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid, even going so far as to use the words “plot and occupation”.
Very hierarchical, the Istiqlal is the oldest party in contemporary Morocco. Ould Errachid, MP, but also a member of the Executive Committee of this government coalition party, quickly responded, calling the leader of the “Bila Hawada” movement, Abdelouahed El Fassi, a man who had failed “in the elections” and ” within the party itself.
Since the outbreak of this conflict, Nizar Baraka has always minimized this affair which has, in reality, had an impact on the progress of the party, since the executive committee of Istiqlal has not met for almost two months, note the observers.
“It’s true, this body has not met for several weeks, because Nizar Baraka prevents this file from poisoning the climate within Istiqlal”, declared an Istiqlalian deputy member of the National Council, the parliament of the Libra party, interviewed by Le360.
Another militant explained the delay taken in the holding of meetings of the political bureau by the heavy responsibilities which currently occupy Nizar Baraka within the government, in his capacity as Minister of Equipment and Water.
Observers also recall that several Istiqlal executives had expressed their dissatisfaction at not having been selected by the party leader to be part of the government and ministerial cabinets. “This case has dismissed several executives from the political office in favor of ministers whose militant past within the Istiqlal remains weak,” said another Istiqlalian official in a statement for Le360.
This party, a member of the government majority alongside the RNI and the PAM, will soon start preparing for its next congress. Nizar Baraka seems to be a candidate for a second term at the head of this formation. However, there remains a prerequisite: that of succeeding in imperatively resoldering the ranks and establishing a climate of confidence and serenity. The next few weeks will tell whether Nizar Baraka, as leader, will succeed in achieving reconciliation and peace.