Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has been tasked with building a coalition government after her party secured 97 of 395 parliamentary seats<\/p>\n
Moroccan King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the North African nation\u2019s first female prime minister following her party\u2019s victory in last week\u2019s parliamentary elections, the royal palace has announced.
\nThe monarch tasked the 50-year-old lawyer, who served as housing minister and mayor of Marrakech, with forming a new government, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
\nMansouri\u2019s liberal-centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 of the lower house\u2019s 395 seats in the September 23 vote and must form a coalition to secure a governing majority. She becomes the second woman to serve as prime minister in an Arab country, after Tunisia\u2019s Najla Bouden, who held the post from 2021 to 2023.
\nPAM overtook outgoing Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch\u2019s National Rally of Independents, which won 66 seats, followed by Istiqlal with 65, according to results published by the Interior Ministry on September 25. Turnout fell to about 38%, compared with around 50% in 2021, official figures showed.<\/p>\n
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PAM was part of Akhannouch\u2019s outgoing coalition government alongside his National Rally of Independents and Istiqlal. During the campaign, PAM ruled out renewing the alliance with Akhannouch\u2019s party, but Mansouri later said she had no \u201cred lines\u201d for coalition talks.
\nThe appointment comes amid an investigation into suspected electoral fraud in the northern port city of Tangier. Prosecutors said a polling-station deputy allegedly removed ballots with the station head\u2019s help before returning them to two polling stations in coordination with other suspects. Investigators found that ink on the seized ballots differed from that used at the polling stations.<\/p>\n
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Tangier Mayor Mounir Limouri, a PAM official, was placed in police custody on Monday as part of the investigation, multiple outlets reported, citing judicial sources. Five other suspects were held in pretrial detention. Limouri denied any connection to the alleged tampering.
\nPAM said it would take disciplinary action against members if investigators established their involvement.
\nFounded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a close adviser and childhood friend of the king, PAM emerged as a secular-leaning rival to the Islamist Justice and Development Party.
\nThe constitution requires the king to appoint the premier from the party that wins the most parliamentary seats but the monarch retains sweeping powers over defense and foreign policy.
\nThe new government will oversee Morocco\u2019s preparations to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Spending on the tournament partly fueled deadly youth-led protests last year, with demonstrators demanding jobs and better healthcare and education. During the election campaign, parties offered jobs and affordable housing to attract young voters after July\u2019s mass border crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Reuters reported.
\nMansouri has pledged a program offering \u201cconcrete and realistic solutions to citizens\u2019 concerns,\u201d acknowledging high expectations, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Morocco hits back at Spain over Ceuta migrant accusations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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