Idriss Lachgar was re-elected early Saturday as the First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) for a fourth consecutive term, following a vote held during the party’s 12th National Congress in Bouznika.
Lachgar secured an absolute majority of votes from the 1,600 delegates attending the congress, while 26 members voted against the proposal to extend his leadership for another mandate. The congress also unanimously approved the party’s moral and financial reports.
The re-election came after heated internal debate over an amendment to the party’s statutes, which allows the First Secretary to serve beyond the previously established three-term limit “if required by the higher interests of the party.” The same provision now applies to regional and provincial secretaries.
Article 217 of the new statutes states: “The National Congress may extend the term of the First Secretary for an additional mandate beyond the three terms stipulated in Articles 9 and 64 if deemed necessary for the party’s higher interests.”
The proposed amendment effectively blocked other contenders, including Salah Eddine El Manouzi, who had publicly announced his intention to run for the position.
Speaking to Hespress, Mehdi Mezouari, a member of the USFP Political Bureau, said that the decision to extend Lachgar’s leadership “had been settled long ago” through approvals at regional congresses prior to the national meeting.
Responding to criticism of the extension, Mezouari argued that “many political leaders have served beyond that,” stressing that the matter “is an internal affair concerning USFP members alone.”
Lachgar’s renewed mandate solidifies his decade-long control over Morocco’s historic left-wing party, which remains a key player in national politics despite internal dissent and a diminished parliamentary presence.
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