King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday after her liberal-centrist party emerged as the largest in the September 23 parliamentary election.
The royal palace said the king had asked El Mansouri to form a new government.
El Mansouri’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was founded in 2008 by a royal adviser. It has since positioned itself as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), promoting social modernisation and secular-leaning views.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy in which the king retains broad powers over foreign policy, defence and other key portfolios.
Under the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the political party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.
PAM takes the top spot
PAM had been the second-largest party in the outgoing coalition but moved into first place after bringing in Fouzi Lekjaa, the head of Morocco’s football federation and a two-time government budget manager, weeks before the election.
PAM won 97 seats, followed by its outgoing coalition partner, the liberal-centrist National Rally of Independents (RNI), with 66 seats. The conservative nationalist Istiqlal party won 65.
El Mansouri, a lawyer who served as housing minister in the outgoing government and is mayor of Marrakech, will now lead negotiations to form a coalition government.
She will also submit a list of cabinet members for the king’s approval.
During the campaign, PAM had ruled out remaining in a coalition with the RNI, with the two parties trading blame over policy shortcomings, including rising food prices.
El Mansouri, however, said on Thursday that she would have no ‘red lines’ in the coalition negotiations.
‘We have turned the page,’ she said.
Abdelilah Benkirane, a former prime minister and leader of the PJD, which won 54 seats, said his party would remain in opposition.
Three leftist parties won smaller shares of the seats.
World Cup preparations and youth concerns
The incoming government will oversee the final stages of a $20 billion push to prepare Morocco for the 2030 World Cup, which the country will co-host with Portugal and Spain.
It will also be tasked with implementing economic policies aimed at addressing widespread youth discontent.
The issue was highlighted by a mass border rush towards the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year.
Turnout in the election, closely watched as an indicator of public trust in elected institutions, fell to about 38%, compared with around 50% in the previous election five years earlier.
The previous election saw the moderate Islamist PJD suffer a major defeat after a decade in power.
A first for Morocco
El Mansouri’s appointment marks the first time Morocco has chosen a woman to head its government.
In recent years, King Mohammed VI has appointed a female adviser, while women have also held senior institutional positions.
The outgoing government had four women ministers.
El Mansouri will now begin the process of forming the new government after PAM’s rise to the top of Morocco’s parliamentary election.
