In Morocco, businessman Aziz Akhannouch appointed head of government

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The leader of the liberal party (RNI) Aziz Akhannouch, appointed head of government by King Mohammed VI, during a press conference following the legislative elections, in Rabat, on September 9, 2021.

In the aftermath of the legislative elections which have defeated the Islamist party at the head of Morocco for a decade, King Mohammed VI appointed head of government, Friday, September 10, businessman Aziz Akhannouch. At the head of the National Rally of Independents (RNI, liberal party), Mr. Akhannouch is thus responsible for forming the new Moroccan executive.

The monarch “Received at the royal palace in Fez, Mr. Aziz Akhannouch (…) that the sovereign appointed head of government, and entrusted him with forming the new government ”, we learned through a press release from the palace. The RNI, the big winner of the ballot, pocketed 102 seats in Parliament out of a total of 395, far ahead of the Justice and Development Party (PJD, moderate Islamist at the head of the former government) which did not obtain any. than 13, according to the results of the Ministry of the Interior after counting all the ballots.

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The rout of the PJD confirmed to the municipal and regional authorities

The RNI has been headed since 2016 by Mr. Akhannouch, one of the kingdom’s first fortunes and Minister of Agriculture since 2007. His political formation is considered close to the palace and has taken part in all government coalitions for twenty-three years, except for a brief period between 2012 and 2013.

For the first time, the approximately 18 million Moroccan voters chose their 395 deputies on the same day as their municipal and regional representatives. The formation of Mr. Akhannouch thus also came out on top of the communales with 9,995 seats (out of a total of 31,503), and the regional ones with 196 seats (out of 678).

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These communal and regional elections also confirmed the historic defeat of the Islamist party (PJD) in the Moroccan legislative elections. The PJD has in fact gone from 5,021 seats to 777 in the municipalities, and from 174 seats to 18 in the regional ones. The Islamist party had been at the head of government in Morocco since 2011 in the wake of the “Arab Spring”, without however controlling key ministries. At that time, Morocco adopted a new Constitution granting wide prerogatives to Parliament and the government.

The World with AFP

www.lemonde.fr

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