Morocco’s Islamists and the legislative elections of 2002: the strange case of the party that did not want to win

Article abstract:

The Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) contested the legislative elections held in Morocco in September 2002 and was expected to do well. However, despite a favourable electoral climate, the PJD's electoral chances were complicated by, first, a call to boycott the elections from Morocco's largest Islamist movement and, second, the party's own reluctance to be seen to perform too well and thus invite an adverse reaction from the Moroccan regime. The party appeared to deliberately limit its campaign but still tripled its representation and became the third largest party in the Parliament. It decided not to join the new governing coalition, preferring to become, for strategic reasons, the largest opposition party.

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