Africa29 September, 20263 min read
Mohammed VI Appoints Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Morocco’s First Female Prime Minister
Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri named Morocco’s first female prime minister by King Mohammed VI. She is Marrakech mayor and urban planning minister; PAM won the election.
El Mansouri appointed
King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s first female prime minister, tasking her with forming a new government after her Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) won the most seats in last week’s parliamentary elections. El Mansouri, 50, became the first woman to reach the country’s highest office, and the BBC said the appointment made her the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world after Najla Bouden in Tunisia. El Mansouri told a press conference that “His Majesty is a bearer of wisdom… If I am entrusted with the responsibility of being head of government, it will be a great honor,” as she was asked about whether the state would need to make changes for her participation in Muslim religious ceremonies attended by the king.
King Mohammed VI granted the designation as prime minister over Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Moroccan football federation, and Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where most power remains in the hands of the king. PAM won 97 seats in the 395-member Parliament and would need to form a coalition to reach the 198 seats required for an absolute majority.
Coalition arithmetic
El Mansouri’s PAM secured 97 seats in the House of Representatives, and the BBC said PAM would need to form a coalition to reach the 198 seats required for an absolute majority in the 395-member Parliament. Abdelilah Benkirane said the Justice and Development Party would remain in opposition and would reject any alliance with PAM, after the BBC described PJD as recovering with 54 seats up from 13 in the previous elections. El Mansouri said she would have no “red lines” in coalition negotiations, and she also told the BBC that the final decision between her and Lekjaa rested with the king.
The BBC said Morocco’s constitution requires the king to appoint the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives elections, and it said PAM had been led by a collective leadership rather than a single secretary-general since February 2024. The BBC reported that El Mansouri had served as mayor of Marrakech for several years and also held a ministerial role in the previous coalition government, including a ministerial role under former Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.
What comes next
El Mansouri’s incoming government faces economic and political pressure as Morocco prepares for major infrastructure spending ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, according to Business Insider Africa. El Mansouri’s platform also focused on young Moroccans, and Africanews said she promised to “restore hope” in a country facing mounting economic and social pressures. El Mansouri was asked whether the state would need to make changes to facilitate her participation in Muslim religious ceremonies attended by the king, including Friday prayers and Eid, and she praised the king as “the greatest defender of women” in the country.
The governing coalition would decide allocations for billions of dollars in investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be primarily hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Morocco’s political system is one where most power remains with the king, and the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives elections.