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King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s first female prime minister on Tuesday following her liberal-centrist party’s victory in the September 23 parliamentary elections.
The royal palace confirmed that the king instructed El Mansouri to form a new government after her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) secured 97 seats in the House of Representatives.
A lawyer, former housing minister, and mayor of Marrakech, El Mansouri, now leads negotiations to assemble a governing coalition before submitting her cabinet for royal approval.
Under Morocco’s constitutional monarchy, where the king retains ultimate authority over key portfolios such as defence and foreign policy, the monarch appoints the head of government from the leading parliamentary party.
PAM, established in 2008 as a social-modernising counterweight to Islamist political forces, surged to the top spot after recruiting high-profile figures, including football federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa.
Though PAM clashed with former coalition partners during the campaign, El Mansouri signalled flexibility for upcoming talks.
“We have turned the page,” she said, emphasising that she holds “no red lines” regarding prospective partners.
The incoming administration will manage the final stages of a $20 billion infrastructure effort leading up to the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host alongside Spain and Portugal.
El Mansouri’s government must also enact economic reforms to counter persistent youth unemployment and social unrest, which fuelled recent border rushes and youth protests.
Meanwhile, voter turnout dropped to roughly 38 per cent from 50 per cent five years ago, while opposition leader Abdelilah Benkirane confirmed his Justice and Development Party (PJD) will remain in opposition despite capturing 54 seats.
