King of Morocco appoints for the first time a woman as head of government

Sa statement from the Royal Cabinet, the Alauite monarch received Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, National Coordinator of WFP, in the Royal Palace of Rabat and “carried it to form the new Government”.

The centre-right formation, which was part of the outgoing government coalition, won 97 out of 395 seats in the House of Representatives (the lower chamber of the Moroccan parliament), in a vote marked by a 38% participation rate, the lowest in almost 20 years.

No absolute majority, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri will now have to negotiate with other parties to form a government coalition for the next five years, although the broad guidelines of the strategic sectors remain the King's responsibility.

The 50-year-old lawyer joined the WFP when it was founded in 2008 by the current King's adviser Fouad Ali El Himma. Near Mohammed VI, this moved away from the party in 2011.

On the lists of this political formation, El Mansouri made history in Marrakech by becoming, at the age of 33, the first woman to take over the presidency of the city council in 2009. He currently holds a second term, starting in 2021.

The future Moroccan Prime Minister was also Minister of Housing in the outgoing government of Aziz Akhannouch and was also elected Member in the ballot held last week.

The legislative elections in Morocco took place in a context of distrust of the political class and concern about rising unemployment and inequalities, particularly among young people.

The lack of prospects for a part of Moroccan youth was again highlighted after the mass arrival of migrants at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in late July.

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri will have to face persistent socio-economic problems while seeking to restore citizens' confidence in government action.

During the campaign, WFP undertook to achieve an average annual growth of 5%, to maintain inflation at 2%, to preserve purchasing power, and to create at least one million jobs during the mandate.

The National Regrouping of Independents (RNI), party of the outgoing head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, came second, with 66 seats, losing about 30 in relation to the last legislative elections in 2021.

The Istiqlal Party, also a member of the outgoing coalition, was in third place with 65 seats.

In the opposition, the Party of Justice and Development (PJD, Islamist), which campaigned, in particular, against corruption, quadrupled its parliamentary representation, winning 54 seats, against the 13 obtained in the last parliamentary elections.

The day after the elections, the party's Secretary-General, Abdelilah Benkirane, dismissed the possibility of joining a government coalition.