PPS refuses to join parliamentary inquiry into livestock import subsidies, citing political maneuvering

The Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) has announced it will not participate in a parliamentary fact-finding mission on livestock and meat import subsidies, citing what it described as a political maneuver by the ruling majority to undermine an earlier opposition-led initiative.

A well-informed source told Hespress AR that the PPS parliamentary group in the House of Representatives would not nominate a representative to the inquiry, which was proposed on April 9, 2025, by members of the governing coalition and the Constitutional Democratic and Social group.

The source said the inquiry was approved without the participation of the Popular Movement party, the original proponents of a similar request submitted on February 27, and that this undermined the parliamentary norms of precedence and fair representation.

“This initiative is essentially a diversion tactic aimed at discrediting the opposition’s demand for a formal fact-finding commission,” the source said. “We believe the presidency of the inquiry should go to the opposition, as per established parliamentary custom.”

The PPS source added that even if the committee considered the topics different, the Popular Movement’s initial request clearly addressed the issue of livestock imports. “This can be corrected,” the source noted.

“The majority’s initiative is politically questionable, and our support for the Popular Movement is an ethical stance,” the source continued. “We are not convinced that a fact-finding mission will uncover anything new. Listening to government officials and public actors will only recycle existing data.”

He stressed that only an official commission of inquiry, which carries broader investigatory powers, could effectively question private actors involved in the alleged import scandal.

“This is why we have decided not to participate,” the PPS source concluded. “We will not lend credibility to an initiative we fundamentally view as flawed. The opposition has every right to refuse, particularly our party.”

The debate stems from a clash between majority and opposition MPs over which side should lead the probe into state subsidies for cattle and meat imports amid rising prices and accusations of corruption.

Earlier, a senior official in the Parliamentary Committee on Productive Sectors told Hespress AR that opposition parties had no right to reject participation if the inquiry was approved by the House Speaker. “Refusing to engage would be a breach of democratic procedure,” the official warned.

But PPS maintains that the real breach occurred when the majority voted, using its numerical advantage, to approve its own version of the inquiry. “The real scandal is the way the issue was forced through by a simple majority vote,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the Popular Movement announced that it has formally protested to House Speaker Rachid Talbi Alami over the committee’s decision, calling it a dangerous precedent. In a letter, the group argued that parliamentary convention gives priority to requests in the order they are filed, and that the majority’s claim to rotate leadership roles is legally unfounded.

The party added that the committee’s actions violate the Constitution, which guarantees opposition rights. “If decisions are made solely through majority voting, then the opposition will be stripped of all its constitutional and legal tools,” the Popular Movement warned, urging the Speaker to intervene and restore parliamentary balance.