Benkirane and Istiqlal clash in debate on corruption, more to come in 2014

Tafraout- Abdelilah Benkirane’s last intervention at the House of Representatives in 2013 was marked by a clash between him  and the members of the Istiqlal party.

 ”We are not like some parties whose members own apartments in Paris and have millions of dirhams in their bank accounts,” Abdelilah Benkirane said.

This accusation provoked some members of the Istiqlal party to immediately respond to the head of the government. With this provocation, a clash between the Istiqlal party and Benkirane’s Party of Justice and Development(PJD) is growing more intense than ever before.

The outbreak of the clash between the two parties forced Abdelilah Benkirane to name the parties that benefited from the state funds and make more clarifications on the issue. Yet, Benkirane chose not to name anyone regarding the issue of corruption among political representatives.

“ I will not say anything more, “ added Benkirane.  The head of the PJD, who is infamous for his temper, has appeared calmer and more composed of late. The debate between Benkirane and the Istiqlal members became so heated that  the President of the House of Representatives, Karim Ghellab, intervened to restore order.

It is worth noting that Hamid Chabat, secretary-general of the Istiqlal Party, and Abdelilah Benkirane, the current head of the government, have been at odds since the PJD came to power in 2011.