RABAT, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) decided on Saturday to elect a new leader on Dec. 9 to 10 amid unprecedented divisions in the party.
During an extraordinary party meeting, the PJD also approved the method of voting and the list of delegates who have the right to take part in the next convention of the party.
Speaking at the meeting, PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane said the party is going through an "earthquake," adding that the very meeting of the party's leadership is a "positive" thing.
Benkirane called for unity and respect for the party's internal laws.
Since Benkirane was replaced by Saadeddine El Othmani, who plays second fiddle in the party, as Morocco's prime minister in March, the party has been witnessing a growing internal crisis.
In March, Morocco's king Mohammed VI decided to dismiss Benkirane and appointed Saadeddine El Othmani, the No. 2 figure in the party, as the country's new prime minister, after Benkirane failed to form a government since the parliamentary elections last October.
Since then, the PJD has been witnessing a growing internal crisis.
While the ruling party approved the king's decision, many of its leaders and grassroots members have been strongly criticizing El Othmani for making "too many concessions" to other coalition parties.
The party is facing the challenge of choosing a successor to its charismatic leader Benkirane, who is serving a second term as secretary general of the PJD but cannot seek a third mandate unless the party's internal laws are changed.
Since his election in 2008, he has led the PJD to three major wins in Morocco's parliamentary and municipal elections, respectively in 2011, 2015 and 2016.
