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King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed businessman Aziz Ahannoush to lead the new government on Friday after his National Assembly of Independents (RNI) defeated long-ruling Islamists in parliamentary elections.
A statement from the palace said that after Wednesday’s opinion polls, the king appointed Ahanush “the head of government and instructed him to form a new government.”
According to the results announced by the Ministry of the Interior, RNI won 102 of the 395 seats in the parliament and defeated the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD), which led the ruling coalition for ten years, but only won 13 seats.
Akhannouch praised the result as “a victory for democracy.”
The billionaire businessman-worth $2 billion according to Forbes-has been leading RNI since 2016.
His party is considered to be closely related to the royal family and has been part of all coalition governments for the past 23 years, except for the brief period between 2012 and 2013.
After his victory, Akhannouch promised to improve the conditions of Moroccan citizens, where deep-rooted social inequality was exacerbated by the pandemic.
“The party’s main commitment is to work hard, as long as we enjoy the confidence of citizens, improve their daily lives, realize their wishes and regain trust in their representatives,” he said.
The Moroccan Statistics Agency stated in April that the economy had shrunk by 7.1% in 2020, and the poverty rate soared to 11.7% during the lockdown.
The recent comprehensive reform of the electoral law meant that Morocco’s 18 million voters voted in parliamentary and local elections on the same day for the first time to increase turnout.
According to the Minister of the Interior, approximately 50.35% of eligible voters participated in the vote, up from 43% in the 2016 legislative opinion poll.
Ahanush’s party also ranked first in the local elections, winning 9,995 out of 31,503 seats, and 196 out of 678 seats in regional polls.
Akhannouch said he was ready to start negotiations to form his coalition government.
“The most important thing is to have a consistent majority,” he said in a televised speech on Friday night.
Under the Moroccan monarchy, the new government must be submitted to the king for approval, and the king reserves the right to veto.
Akhannouch may get 86 seats in the parliamentary election from the main opposition party-the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM)-founded by an influential royal adviser-and the 81-seat conservative Istiqlal party Ranked second.
However, the cabinet horse deal is not expected to include PJD, which announced that it will shift to its “natural” status as an opposition.
A policy change is unlikely, because Morocco’s major decision still comes from King Mohammed VI.
The heads of the longest-reigning dynasty in the Arab world have announced the charter of the “new development model” for the next few years, including “a new generation of reforms and projects”, and the parties are expected to sign agreements.
The main goals of the plan include reducing Morocco’s wealth gap and doubling per capita economic output by 2035.
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