Istiqlal Party

The Istiqlal or Independence Party (Arabic: حزب الإستقلال hizb al-istiqlāl, French: Parti de l'Istiqlal) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International.Originally founded in the 1940s, Istiqlal held strongly nationalist views and was the main political force struggling for the independence of Morocco. For the party's leader Allal El Fassi, the independence would not be complete without the liberation of all the territories that once were part of Morocco, thus a proponent of "Greater Morocco". He was often critical of the ruling monarchy, after being instrumental in liberating the country from French colonialism. Independence was achieved in 1956, and the party then moved into opposition against the monarchy, which had asserted itself as the country's main political actor. Together with the leftist UNFP, which split off from Istiqlal in 1959, and later the 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-'80s. 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.
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