Benkirane says Mustafa Lakhsem sought rapprochement with PJD

Mustafa Lakhsem, mayor of Imouzzer Kandar and a member of the Popular Movement (MP), has sought closer ties with the Justice and Development Party (PJD). The revelation was made on Monday by Abdelilah Benkirane during a press briefing outlining his party’s main priorities ahead of the 2026 legislative elections.

«Lakhsem contacted us. I told him he was welcome. We asked him to settle his issue with Mohamed Ouzzine (secretary-general of the Popular Movement, editor’s note). I don’t know whether he has done so or not. We also asked him to resolve his legal problems, and then we would discuss the matter again,» the PJD secretary-general said.

«Since then, he has not come back to us. If he did, we would look at what steps to take next,» he added, while emphasizing the «friendly relations» between the PJD and the Popular Movement.

For the record, Abdelilah Benkirane opposed calls in 2014 for the dismissal of Mohamed Ouzzine, then Minister of Youth and Sports, following the scandal that marred Morocco’s hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup. King Mohammed VI’s intervention ultimately led to Ouzzine’s suspension and subsequent departure from the government.

Relations between Mohamed Ouzzine and Mustafa Lakhsem, the former kickboxing world champion who heads the Imouzzer Kandar communal council under the MP banner, remain particularly strained.