Africa · updated 59m ago · 2 min read
King Mohammed VI Appoints Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Morocco’s First Female Prime Minister
Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri appointed Morocco's first female prime minister. PAM won 97 of 395 seats in the September elections.
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First woman PM appointed
King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s first ever female prime minister on Tuesday, tasking her with forming a new government after the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won the most seats in last week’s parliamentary elections. El Mansouri, a 50-year-old lawyer and the mayor of Marrakesh, was named by the royal palace and described her appointment as “truly historic” in remarks reported by public media.
El Mansouri said, “For the first time in our country’s history, a woman assumes the responsibility of leading the government,” and she added that it was “not only a source of pride for me, but for all Moroccan women.” The appointment came as PAM fell short of an outright majority, with 97 seats out of the 395 in the House of Representatives, and the new prime minister was expected to negotiate with other parties to assemble a coalition.
Coalition arithmetic and turnout
El Mansouri’s mandate began after PAM secured 97 seats out of 395, while the National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 66 seats and Istiqlal won 65, leaving PAM without the 198 seats needed for an absolute majority. El Mansouri faced coalition-building as the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) returned with 54 elected representatives, and the Islamist opposition’s Abdelilah Benkirane said the party would stay in opposition and refused a partnership with PAM.
The political landscape also reflected voter turnout of 38%, described as the lowest level in nearly two decades, and the mandate required translating electoral legitimacy into governing trust. El Mansouri said, “The work starts today,” and she added that she would “first begin internal consultations within our party, before engaging with all political formations.”
Economic pressures and 2030 World Cup
El Mansouri’s government was expected to tackle unemployment and the cost of living, with the sources describing mounting economic and social pressures and persistent social disparities weighing particularly on young people. El Mansouri said during the campaign, “Young people are going through a crisis and we must provide them with answers,” and she added, “We want to restore their hope, not only through speeches, but through concrete solutions.”
The royal appointment also placed Morocco’s preparations to co-host the 2030 World Cup on the prime minister’s agenda, with the sources describing investments and planning linked to the tournament. The sources tied the political moment to youth discontent, including a mass border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year, as well as the need to carry forward the government’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara.