Moroccan Prime Minister-designate Aziz Akhannouch announced Wednesday the formation of a government majority from three parties, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) and the Istiqlal Party (PI). In a press statement on the government majority announcement, Akhannouch said, "We were able to form the government majority within a short time," adding, "This majority is a translation of the popular will." He added that they would suggest to King Mohammed VI the names of the personalities who will bear government responsibilities, stressing that the selection of these personalities will be based on efficiency and credibility criteria. On the 10th of this month, King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed the head of the National Rally of Independents, Aziz Akhannouch, as head of the government, after his party led the results of the legislative elections that took place on Sept. 8. Akhanouch's party placed first in a legislative election, netting 102 out of the 395 seats in the lower house of parliament. Formed in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Hima, a personal friend of the king and one of his close advisers, PAM has never before been part of a Moroccan government. The Istiqlal Party is Morocco's oldest party and has participated in several governments since the kingdom gained independence from France in 1956. The three parties together won 270 seats in the House of Representatives, giving the coalition government a comfortable majority to pass laws. "We will work together to form an effective and coherent majority before presenting the government lineup to King Mohammed VI," Akhanouch said during a press conference. "We share many historical backgrounds and we intersect in a number of priorities." Akhanouch replaces Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani, whose Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) suffered a stinging a defeat in the Sept. 8 election. The party, which has been in power since 2011, secured only 13 parliament seats, down from 125 in the 2016 election. — Agencies
