Zemzami displays the seriousness of his candidacy

2007-09-07

Renaissance and Virtue Party (PRV) candidate Abdelbarii Zemzami's former work as an imam and his split from the Justice and Development Party (PJD) have attracted attention both in Morocco and abroad. His campaign platform and recent remarks against the PJD indicate the fierceness of his campaign.

By Naoufel Dekkaki and Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Rabat and Casablanca – 07/09/2007

[Hassan Benmehdi] Zemzami (center) during his campaign

Abdelbarii Zemzami, Islamist candidate for the Party of Renaissance and Virtue (PRV) in the Casablanca-Anfa district chose the ancient medina as the first port of call in his election campaign. After splitting from the PJD to form his own party, the former imam at the al-Hamra mosque delivered a three hour speech to a largely supportive crowd of potential constituents. Many journalists attended the event, as local analysts believe the outspoken imam promises to cause an upset in the constituency.

Contrary to expectations, he did not appear at the al-Hamra mosque for the prayer after his speech, apparently preferring to perform his religious obligations at home. In a statement to journalists, Zemzami said he is doing all he can to comply fully with rules handed down from the Department of Islamic Affairs. "I’ve been banned for six years from preaching in the al-Hamra mosque," he said, adding that he has also "stopped giving sermons and have even forgone my five daily prayers at the mosque to avoid mixing the two activities."

"I decided to leave the mosque to go onto the public stage via parliament," Zemzami said, "a platform from which I can protect people’s rights and support development projects in this country." Throughout his campaign, the PRV candidate repeated this warm slogan to supporters whose votes he will need to beat out ambitious politicians and businessmen for a seat in the constituency.

Zemzami has also used some cold language to cut down the competition. In an interview with a local newspaper last week, he described his former PJD as "the party of vileness and brainwashing". He said the PJD "has given a bad example through their previous parliamentary experiences, and they have disappointed the people. It seemed to me that there was no difference between them and the other parties which they have been criticizing."

Zemzani's strong words follow an incident in which the newspaper Attajdid, whose director Abdel Elah ben Kiran is close to the PJD, refused to publish articles the PRV candidate had written. "I have described the leaders of PJD as 'despicable' because they don't respect companionship," Zemzami said. "They don't even have the manners of dogs in terms of loyalty for the more than 15 years that I have spent with them."

Meanwhile, the Moroccan Centre for Democracy in Elections filed a complaint last Friday with the King's attorney at the Court of Appeals, accusing Zemzami of inciting his followers against other parties. Zemzami denied the accusation and told the Centre that the court has not contacted him in order to get his opinion about the statements ascribed to him. Zemzami added that his statements focused mainly on the need for clerics' participation in Parliament in order to present their viewpoints.

Zemzami contributed strongly to the success of a PJD candidate in previous elections and is currently running for one of four seats in Casablanca-Anfa against Istiqlal candidate Yasimina Badou, a plenipotentiary minister in the outgoing government, and against Abderrehim Hajouji, leader of the Citizens Forces Party, which had entered into alliance with the PJD although its followers have since turned against Hajouji in favour of Zemzami.