The 9th congress of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), scheduled for next September, constitutes "the last opportunity" for the party to restore order in its ranks and to regain its place and credibility within society, affirmed the first secretary of the USFP, Abdelwahed Radi, on Saturday in Rabat.

Mr. Radi stressed in a report presented at the opening of the work of the party's National Council that "if there had been divergence in recent years within the party, it is perhaps on the manner and pace of the implementation of political decisions" and not on "fundamental questions".

Mr. Radi drew up a precise and critical diagnosis of the current situation of the party, which he described as "collective suicide", considering that the crisis that the USFP is going through is a crisis of understanding and application of democratic values.

The situation in which the party currently finds itself, which he also described as "self-destruction", is at the origin of the USFP's failure in the last legislative elections, observed Mr. Radi, calling for mobilisation to get the party out of this impasse.

Addressing the preparations for the next congress, the first secretary of the USFP stressed that the national council is called upon to decide on the date of the congress, the preparatory committee, and the method of electing the party's governing bodies, recalling the stakes of the next electoral deadlines that the country will experience in the coming months, and which require more preparation.

This meeting was also marked by the presentation of two reports on "preparations for the 9th congress" and "organisation of the 2012 municipal elections". The first report proposes holding the next congress next September with no more than 1,200 delegates, and the immediate constitution of a preparatory committee.

The second report proposes a platform for the development of an electoral strategy capable of regaining the party's areas of influence in large cities, the recruitment of a new elite according to criteria of competence and popularity, and the creation of a national elections committee and local committees for the implementation of the national action programme.

These two reports will be the subject of an expanded discussion among the members of the party's national council. TRA.