THE NISGS 08 (2015)

To avoid the pangs of protest and violence witnessed by some Arab countries, Morocco has chosen, as a challenge, to introduce a homogeneous society based on the principles of participation, pluralism and good governance. It is in this new conception that the municipal and regional elections of 4 September 2015 constituted the first step of a decisive year for Morocco's main political parties which will face each other in the parliamentary scheduled for the autumn 2016. This parliamentary will be the first elections after the Moroccan Constitution’s review. The results were enough foreseeable suggesting two possible developments: one in favor of Authenticity and Modernity Party (AMP); the other in favor of the Justice and Development Party (JDP). The first, where the royal administration and the Makhzen apparatus of Tentacluar State are powerful, has achieved a good score; the second has established itself in major cities, and approached the fringe of the average, urban and conservative population. Most observers expect the JDP as a winner of the elections, but its success can upset the tacit rules on which it is based the coexistence between the Islamic party and the Royal Palace. So, what are the keys of JDP’s success? Is his victory for Islamism or pragmatism? Isn’t the emergence of the JDP, as the main political force in local and regional elections of 2015, a destabilizing factor for the political balance of the monarchy in Morocco, while the traditional parties recoil?