Morocco’s king appoints first woman prime minister following election

By Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri on Tuesday as Morocco’s first woman prime minister after her liberal-centrist party came out on top in a September 23 parliamentary election, the royal palace said.

The king asked El Mansouri to form a new government, the palace said in a statement.

El Mansouri’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was created in 2008 by an adviser to the king and has since positioned itself as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) by advocating social modernisation and secular-leaning views.

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the king retains sweeping powers over foreign policy, defence and other key portfolios.

Under Morocco’s 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, which was ⁠the second-largest member in the outgoing coalition, moved up to the top spot, bolstered by the recruitment of Fouzi Lekjaa, Morocco’s football federation chief and two-time government budget manager, who joined weeks before the vote.

El Mansouri, a lawyer who was housing minister in the outgoing government and Marrakech mayor, will lead talks to form a coalition government and submit a list of cabinet members for the king’s approval.

‘NO RED LINES’

The incoming government will oversee the last stages of a $20-billion push to get ready for the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain.

It will also implement economic policies aimed at addressing widespread youth discontent, an issue highlighted by a mass border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year.

PAM won 97 seats, followed by its partners in the outgoing government, the liberal-centrist National Rally of Independents (RNI) with 66 seats, and the conservative nationalist Istiqlal with 65.

During the campaign, PAM had ruled out staying in a coalition with the RNI — the two had traded blame over policy shortcomings including a failure to halt rises in food prices.

But El Mansouri said on Thursday she would have no “red lines” when it came to negotiations. “We have turned the page,” she said.

Abdelilah Benkirane, former prime minister and leader of the PJD, which won 54 seats, said the party would stay in opposition.

Three leftist parties took smaller shares of the seats.

Turnout, closely watched as an indicator of trust in elected institutions, fell to about 38% from around 50% in the previous elections five years ago, when the moderate Islamist PJD was dealt a crushing defeat after a decade in power.

In recent years, King Mohammed VI had appointed a female adviser and Morocco has had women in senior institutional roles. The outgoing government had four women ministers.

(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by Alexander Dziadosz, Gareth Jones, Aidan Lewis)