MOROCCO: (ISLAMIST) PJD LEADER DISCUSSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000549

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2017
TAGS: PGOV PTER KISL MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: (ISLAMIST) PJD LEADER DISCUSSES
ELECTIONS, GOVERNANCE, AND TERRORISM

REF: A. RABAT 0225

B. 06 RABAT 1883

C. 06 RABAT 1621

Classified by Political Counselor Craig Karp for Reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Abdallah Baha, Deputy Secretary-General of
Morocco's (Islamist) Party of Justice and Development (PJD),
complained to poloff during a mid-March meeting that the
party believed the electoral system was unfairly tilted
against them. He said the party nonetheless expects to do
well in the September parliamentary elections and did not
exclude PJD participation in a governing coalition. Baha
rejected claims that the PJD would "turn back the clock" with
regressive Islamist social policies. He insisted that the
party's program of economic and educational reforms, and its
Islamic credibility, put the PJD in a strong position to lead
the fight against terrorism. Baha urged the U.S. to review
its approach to the region, arguing that a timetable for
withdrawal in Iraq would undermine Al-Qaeda's strength.
Baha's views generally paralleled those we have heard from
other PJD interlocutors (reftels). End summary.

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PJD Unhappy with Electoral Framework...
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2. (C) Abdallah Baha, Deputy Secretary-General of the
Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) received poloff
at party headquarters in Rabat on March 16. Baha complained
that Morocco's electoral system was deeply flawed, favoring
continued "balkanization" of the political landscape (there
are currently 11 different parties represented in the
325-seat lower house),and allowing money to exert undue
influence on election results. Baha was particularly
critical of the government's recent rearrangement of
electoral districts, which raised the total number of
districts from 91 to 95, and reallocated a number of seats
from PJD strongholds in urban centers to rural areas where
nationalist and left parties have the upper hand. There is
no question that the PJD was the principal target of this
initiative, he asserted.


3. (C) Baha pointed to the numerous bad entries in the voter
registry and expressed doubt that the Interior Ministry would
do a comprehensive job in cleaning up the list. (Note: The
Interior Ministry has announced it will be processing
corrections to the voter registry in April and May. End
note.) Baha also underlined the PJD's view that the
elections should be administered by an independent commission
rather than the Interior Ministry, and that civil society
organizations should be given every opportunity to monitor
all stages of the process. "We must defend democracy against
interference from private interests and contamination by
political and financial corruption," he affirmed.

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...But Ready to Play Ball Anyway
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4. (C) In spite of the PJD's grievances about Morocco's
"flawed" elections system, Baha was clear that the party will
compete aggressively for lower house seats in the September
elections, and that the party expects to do well. "If the PJD
is strong, it is because other parties are weak. We are just
another political party in Morocco, but (unlike the others)
we are well organized, accountable, transparent." He
predicted the party would take "60 to 70" of the lower
house's 325 seats. This potential result did not represent
the party's true strength, Baha opined, but the system as
structured diffuses the popular vote and prevents any party
from gaining an outright majority.

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To Govern or Oppose
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5. (C) Baha repeated what we have heard from other PJD
leaders on the party's position that it would leave open the
option of joining a governing coalition after the next
elections. Agreeing to join a government will depend on what
understandings the party can establish with potential
coalition partners. "But we will not join for the sake of
joining," he emphasized. (Comment: Party leader Saadeddine
Al-Othmani used the same phrasing at a public meeting in
Casablanca in early March. In a recent media interview,
Othmani allowed that if the PJD did end up joining a
coalition, the Ministries they would be most interested in
getting were Justice, Administrative Reform, and Education.
We view this as an opening position in any potential
negotiations. End comment.)

RABAT 00000549 002 OF 002



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Not Turning Back the Clock
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6. (C) Baha categorically rejected charges by critics that
the PJD would pursue a regressive Islamist social agenda if
it came to power. "Not all of our women wear hijab (hair
covering)," he asserted. (Comment: All of the women we saw
at PJD headquarters (as in other PJD fora) wore hijab. End
comment.) We do not believe the state should impose hijab,
but we are totally against France, which banned it (from
public schools). "We will never be Iran, and we will never
be Saudi Arabia," that is not our approach, he asserted.


7. (C) Asked whether the PJD might pursue legislation to ban
alcohol, Baha maintained that there is already a law on the
books forbidding the sale of alcohol to Muslims, but the
state has historically not enforced it. Queried about the
potential impact of an alcohol ban on the tourism industry,
Baha implied that the party could tolerate the presence of
alcohol in a tourist context, but complained about a
"requirement" that hoteliers serve alcohol in order to
qualify for "star" designations. "Some Muslim investors wish
to build hotels that do not serve alcohol. They should be
allowed to do so."

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Fight Terrorism with Islamism
--------------


8. (C) Asked about the increasing number of Salafist
terrorist cells identified and dismantled in Morocco, and the
abortive March 11 terrorist attack in Casablanca, Baha said
the incidents highlighted the threat of terrorism but in no
way put the PJD on the defensive. "They tried and failed to
attach blame to us" after the Casablanca bombings in 2003 but
"the people were smarter," they know the difference between
Islam and terrorism, he asserted. The PJD, with strong
societal credentials as Muslims, is better positioned than
most to tackle terrorism, Baha maintained. Fixing the
educational system, fighting corruption, and reforming the
economy were all keys to winning the struggle against
terrorism in the long run, he stated.


9. (C) Baha closed by underlining the PJD's strong concerns
about U.S. policy in the region, which he maintained were
exacerbating the threat from terrorism. "The U.S. must
change its policies to win the confidence of Muslims. We are
in different countries but we all belong to the same 'Umma'
(nation). When we see suffering in Iraq or Palestine, we
feel it in Indonesia and in Morocco." The U.S. should
establish a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, Baha urged.
"You must separate and isolate Al-Qaeda from the insurgency.
The Iraqis will turn on Al-Qaeda once the occupation is
gone," he predicted.

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Riley