The Justice and Development Party (PJD) has suffered yet another setback in Morocco's ongoing partial legislative elections. Today's vote in the South Fes district resulted in a decisive victory for the Independence National Rally Party (RNI) candidate. The RNI candidate secured a wide margin of 9,767 votes, compared to 3,854 for the PJD candidate who came in second. The PJD's Islamic Training Branch in Fes attributed their defeat to «shameful and anti-democratic practices carried out by some parties, including the ruling party». However, they acknowledged the neutrality of the relevant authorities during the elections. In July 2022, after the Justice and Development Party's defeat in partial elections in Meknes and Al Hoceima, the party's Secretary-General accused local authorities agents of manipulating the elections. This accusation was immediately denounced by the Ministry of the Interior. This loss follows a string of defeats for the PJD in partial elections held since the 2021 legislative elections. Even the return of Abdelilah Benkirane as party leader in October 2021 hasn't stemmed the tide. The PJD continues to lose ground in its former strongholds within major Moroccan cities.
