Socialist Union of Popular Forces

The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (Template:Langx; Template:Langx; Template:Langx, USFP) is a social democratic<ref name="Aboushi">Template:Citation</ref> political party in Morocco. It claims ideas of social justice, modernity and the fight against inequalities.

History and profile

The USFP was formed as a breakaway from the National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), a socialist opposition party which had itself split from the Istiqlal Party in 1959.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The USFP was established in 1975.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The party won the 1997 parliamentary election,<ref name="remy" /> and led the government of Morocco with a centre-left coalition.<ref name=remy>Template:Cite news</ref> During this period, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who led the USFP, served as the Prime Minister of Morocco.<ref name=remy/>

In the parliamentary election held on 27 September 2002, the party won 50 out of 325 seats, making it the largest party in the Moroccan parliament. Following those elections, it formed a government with the Istiqlal Party in a three-party coalition known as the "Koutla".

In the next parliamentary election, held on 7 September 2007, the USFP won 38 out of 325 seats, losing 12 seats and becoming only the fifth largest party in parliament.<ref>"Moroccans favor conservative party instead of ushering in Islamic party", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 9 September 2007.</ref> The USFP was included in the government of Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, formed on 15 October 2007.<ref>"Le roi nomme un nouveau gouvernement après des tractations difficiles", Agence France-Presse, 15 October 2007 Template:In lang.</ref>

The USFP is a full member of the Socialist International<ref>List of Socialist International parties in Africa Template:Webarchive Socialist International.</ref> and an observer of the Party of European Socialists.<ref>Party of European Socialists official website</ref>

In the run-up to the November 2011 parliamentary elections, the USFP sought to present a united front with the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) and Democratic Forces Front (FFD) to reverse the loss of support for the Moroccan left in the preceding years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The party placed fifth, with 39 seats, in the 2011 elections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The USFP won 34 seats in the 2021 parliamentary election, an increase of 14 seats since the last election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Electoral performance

Year	Number of votes	%	Seats in the House of Representatives	Position in Parliament
1977	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
1984	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
1993	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
1997	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes2
2002	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:Some
2007	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:Some
2011	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
2016	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:Some
2021	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2

External links

• Official website