Parliamentary Representation
In the parliamentary election, held on 27 September 2002, the party won 42 out of 325 seats, winning most of the districts where it fielded candidates. Its secretary-general since 2004 is Saadeddine Othmani, MP representing Mohammedia. In the parliamentary election held on 7 September 2007, the PJD won 46 out of 325 seats, behind the Istiqlal Party, which won 52. This was contrary to expectations that the PJD would win the most seats.
Abdelilah Benkirane was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over from Saadeddine Othmani. Having won a plurality of seats in the November 2011 parliamentary election, the party formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments, and Benkirane was appointed Prime Minister of Morocco on 29 November 2011.
His new government has targeted average economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its four year mandate, and to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of 2016 from 9.1 percent at the start of 2012. Benkirane's government has also actively pursued Morocco’s ties with the European Union, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.
Read more about this topic: Justice And Development Party (Morocco)