The party emerged in the year 1937 during the anti-colonial struggle against French and Spanish imperial rule,[8][9][10] making it the oldest active political party in Morocco.[11]
The party was founded in April 1937[1] as the National Party for Istiqlal, and became the Istiqlal Party 10 December 1943.[12][13] Istiqlal held strongly Arab nationalist views[5] and was the main political force struggling for the independence of Morocco. The initial goal stated in their manifesto was the independence from France “within the framework of a constitutional-democratic monarchy”.[14] The leadership of al-Istiqlal was successful in overcoming “petty rivalries”[15] between the different parties and anticolonial organizations and unifying the nationalist movement. This factor added to the campaign of Moroccan activists spread across the world and contributed to achieving international visibility and support for their cause.[16]
After independence
However, once they achieved the independence in 1956 the party then moved into opposition against the monarchy, which had asserted itself as the country's main political actor. It had to overcome some obstacles since the party, which had just achieved their common goal, was prone to fragmentation.[17]
There was a movement within the Istiqlal Party to unite Muslims and Jews called al-Wifaq (الوفاق), with prominent Jewish figures such as Armand Asoulin, David Azoulay, Marc Sabbagh, Joe O’Hana, and Albert Aflalo.[18]
Together with the leftist National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), which split from Istiqlal in 1959, and later the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), the Istiqlal would form the backbone of the opposition to King Hassan II in the years to come. The Istiqlal party has taken part in many coalition governments from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. In 1998, together with the USFP inside the Koutla and other smaller parties, the Istiqlal formed the Alternance, the first political experience in the Arab World where the opposition assumed power through the ballots.
For the party's leader Allal El Fassi, a proponent of "Greater Morocco", Morocco's independence would not be complete without the liberation of all the territories that once were part of Morocco.
Istiqlal won 52 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held on 7 September 2007, more than any other party,[19] and subsequently the party's leader, Abbas El Fassi, was named Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI on 19 September 2007.[19][20]
The party won 60 out of 325 seats in the parliamentary election held in November 2011, being the second party in the parliament.[21]
Istiqlal office of the Al-Fida Derb-Soltane district, Casablanca
Abbas El Fassi resigned as Prime Minister 29 November 2011, and resigned as Secretary-General of Istiqlal on 23 September 2012, following Justice and Development Party victory in 2011 elections.
In September 2012, Hamid Chabat was elected secretary-general of the party succeeding Abbas El Fassi.[22][23]
On October 7, 2017, Nizar Baraka was elected Secretary-General of the Istiqlal party, by 924 votes against 230 votes for his rival and outgoing secretary-general Hamid Chabat.[26][27] King Mohammed VI expressed his congratulations to the new Istiqlal Party leader for the confidence placed in him by the members of the party’s national council.[28]
The Istiqlal party won 81 seats in the 2021 parliamentary election, an increase of 35 seats since the last election, thus remaining the third largest party in the kingdom.[29][30]
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