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Socialist Union of Popular Forces

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Socialist Union of Popular Forces
الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية
Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires
ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰⵏⵏ
First SecretaryDriss Lachgar
Founded12 January 1975; 49 years ago (1975-01-12)[1]
Split fromNational Union of Popular Forces
HeadquartersRabat, Morocco
NewspaperAl Ittihad Al Ichtiraki (Arabic)
Libération (French)
IdeologySocial democracy[2]
Political positionCentre-left
European affiliationParty of European Socialists (observer)
International affiliationSocialist International
Progressive Alliance
ColoursPurple, White
House of Representatives
37 / 395
House of Councillors
8 / 120
Pan-African Parliament
1 / 5
(Morocco seats)
Website
www.usfp.ma

The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (Arabic: الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية, romanized: Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah; Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰⵏⵏ; French: Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires, USFP) is a social democratic[2] political party in Morocco.

History and profile

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The USFP was formed as a breakaway from the National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), a socialist opposition party which had itself split from the Istiqlal Party in 1959.[3] The USFP was established in 1975.[4][5]

The party won the 1997 parliamentary election,[6] and led the government of Morocco with a centre-left coalition.[6] During this period, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who led the USFP, served as the Prime Minister of Morocco.[6]

In the parliamentary election held on 27 September 2002, the party won 50 out of 325 seats, making it the largest party in the Moroccan parliament. Following those elections, it formed a government with the Istiqlal Party in a three-party coalition known as the "Koutla".

In the next parliamentary election, held on 7 September 2007, the USFP won 38 out of 325 seats, losing 12 seats and becoming only the fifth largest party in parliament.[7] The USFP was included in the government of Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, formed on 15 October 2007.[8]

The USFP is a full member of the Socialist International[9] and an observer of the Party of European Socialists.[10]

In the run-up to the November 2011 parliamentary elections, the USFP sought to present a united front with the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) and Democratic Forces Front (FFD) to reverse the loss of support for the Moroccan left in the preceding years.[11] The party placed fifth, with 39 seats, in the 2011 elections.[12]

The USFP won 34 seats in the 2021 parliamentary election, an increase of 14 seats since the last election.[13][14]

Electoral performance

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Year Number of votes % Seats in the
House of Representatives 		Position in Parliament
1977
116,470
2.31
1 / 264
 Opposition
1984
550,291
12.39
35 / 301
 Opposition
1993
820,641
13.2
52 / 333
 Opposition
1997
884,061
13.9
57 / 325
 Leading government under Abderrahmane Youssoufi
2002
718,725
15.38
50 / 325
 Part of the government
2007
408,945
8.9
38 / 325
 Part of the government
2011
408,108
8.6
39 / 395
 Opposition
2016
367,622
5.06
20 / 395
 Part of the government
2021
590,215
7.80
34 / 395
 Opposition

References

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  1. ^ "بيان المؤتمر الاستثنائي 1975". الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية (in Arabic). 20 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b El-Hussein A’boushi (2010), "The Socialist Union of Popular Forces Party in Morocco", Returning to Political Parties?, The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, pp. 131–173, ISBN 9782351592618, retrieved 1 December 2011
  3. ^ Marvine Howe (2 June 2005). Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. Oxford University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-19-534698-5. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ^ Marvine Howe (2 June 2005). Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-19-534698-5. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Moroccan Political Parties". Riad Reviews. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Remy Leveau (December 1998). "A democratic transition in Morocco?". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Moroccans favor conservative party instead of ushering in Islamic party", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 9 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Le roi nomme un nouveau gouvernement après des tractations difficiles", Agence France-Presse, 15 October 2007 (in French).
  9. ^ List of Socialist International parties in Africa Archived 28 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Socialist International.
  10. ^ Party of European Socialists official website
  11. ^ "North Africa region daily news update". Aswat. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Morocco". European Forum. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Morocco elections: Islamists suffer losses as liberal parties gain ground". The Guardian. 9 September 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Islamists suffer crushing defeat in Moroccan parliamentary elections". France 24. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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