Morocco’s king appoints first woman prime minister following election

Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP/Getty Images

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.

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.

Abdel Majid Bziouat/法新社/盖蒂图片社

摩洛哥王宫周二宣布，穆罕默德六世国王任命法蒂玛·埃扎赫拉·曼苏里为摩洛哥首位女首相。此前，她的自由中间派政党在9月23日的议会选举中胜出。

王宫在一份声明中表示，国王已要求曼苏里组建新政府。

曼苏里的真实性和现代性党（PAM）由国王的一位顾问于 2008 年创立，此后一直倡导社会现代化和世俗化观点，以此作为与伊斯兰主义正义与发展党（PJD）抗衡的力量。

摩洛哥是君主立宪制国家，国王在外交政策、国防和其他关键领域拥有广泛的权力。

根据摩洛哥宪法，国王从在众议院赢得最多席位的政党中任命政府首脑。

PAM 是即将卸任的联盟中的第二大成员，在选举前几周，摩洛哥足球联合会主席、两届政府预算经理福齐·莱克贾的加入，使其跃升至第一大成员的位置。

即将卸任的政府的住房部长、马拉喀什市长、律师埃尔·曼苏里将领导组建联合政府的谈判，并向国王提交内阁成员名单以供批准。

新政府将负责监督一项耗资 200 亿美元的计划的最后阶段，该计划旨在为摩洛哥与葡萄牙和西班牙共同举办 2030 年世界杯做好准备。

它还将实施旨在解决普遍存在的青年不满情绪的经济政策。今年 7 月，西班牙飞地休达发生大规模边境抢劫事件，去年 Z 世代领导的致命抗议活动凸显了这一问题。

PAM 赢得了 97 个席位，其次是即将卸任的政府中的合作伙伴，自由中间派的全国独立人士联盟 (RNI) 赢得了 66 个席位，保守民族主义的独立党 (Istiqlal) 赢得了 65 个席位。

在竞选期间，PAM 曾排除与 RNI 继续组成联合政府的可能性——双方就政策缺陷互相指责，包括未能阻止食品价格上涨。

但埃尔·曼苏里周四表示，她在谈判中不会设定任何“红线”。她说：“我们已经翻开了新的一页。”

前总理、赢得 54 个席位的正义与发展党 (PJD) 领导人阿卜杜拉·本·基兰表示，该党将继续留在反对党阵营。

三个左翼政党获得的席位比例较小。

投票率作为衡量民众对民选机构信任度的重要指标，受到密切关注。投票率从五年前上次选举的约 50% 下降到约 38%。当时，温和的伊斯兰主义政党正义与发展党 (PJD) 在执政十年后遭遇惨败。

近年来，穆罕默德六世国王任命了一位女性顾问，摩洛哥也曾有女性担任高级机构职务。即将卸任的政府中有四位女性部长。