Morocco’s first female PM secures coalition deal

The four-party alliance holds 207 parliamentary seats and has pledged a “strong” government committed to a shared reform agenda

Morocco’s election-winning Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) has agreed to form a government with three other parties, securing a parliamentary majority for the country’s first female prime minister, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. The new coalition excludes outgoing premier Aziz Akhannouch’s party.

The liberal-centrist party will govern alongside the nationalist Istiqlal Party, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, and the Party of Progress and Socialism, according to a joint statement issued on Monday. The group holds 207 of the lower house’s 395 seats, above the 198 required for a majority.

The agreement followed two rounds of consultations led by Mansouri, the statement said. The parties pledged a “strong political government” committed to a shared reform agenda, including stronger rights and freedoms, social justice, and reducing regional inequalities. They said they would propose ministerial candidates “who are competent, politically astute, honest, and upright” and prepare a government program as “quickly as possible.”

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The government replaces the previous three-party alliance, which was led by Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents (RNI) alongside PAM and Istiqlal for a five-year term beginning in 2021. Before the September 23 election, PAM and RNI reportedly clashed over the recruitment of elected officials and traded blame over policy shortcomings, including a failure to curb rising food prices.

King Mohammed VI appointed Mansouri, a former housing minister and Marrakech mayor, on September 29 after PAM won 97 seats in the vote. RNI finished second with 66, followed by Istiqlal with 65. Turnout fell to about 38%, compared with around 50% in 2021.

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The constitution requires the king to appoint the premier from the party winning the most parliamentary seats. The monarch retains sweeping powers over defense and foreign policy.

The new government will oversee preparations for Morocco to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal. It faces demands for jobs and better education and healthcare, grievances that fueled deadly youth-led protests last year and July’s mass migrant crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.