Benkirane tasked to form new Morocco government

Benkirane tasked to form new Morocco government
Morocco's King Mohammed VI has tasked Abdelilah Benkirane to keep his post as prime minister and form a new government.
2 min read
10 October, 2016
Benkirane's Party took 125 seats out of 395 in Friday's polls [Getty]
Morocco's King Mohammed VI has tasked Abdelilah Benkirane to keep his post as prime minister and form a new government after his Islamist party won last week's parliamentary elections.

Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395 in Friday's polls, beating its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society.

"His Majesty King Mohammed VI has appointed Mr Benkirane prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government," the royal court said in a statement.

The appointment comes in line with the constitution which says that the king – the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years and who holds real power – chooses the prime minister fom the biggest party in parliament.

Although it clinched the most seats in Friday's vote, the PJD did not secure absolute majority – 198 seats – and therefore must forge a coalition with other parties.

It needs to make an alliance with 73 parliamentarians.

Benkirane confirmed his nomination and told reporters he hoped to carry out his duties well.

"I will hold consultations with the political parties very soon in order to form the government and I hope that we will all be successful," he said.

The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy.

A new constitution transferred some of the king's powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

During Benkirane's first five-year term as prime minister, the PJD passed a controversial reform of the retirement system and followed a relatively liberal economic policy.

Its task was complicated by the unstable world economy and a drought this year that hit Morocco's vital agricultural sector and sent growth plummeting.

The party was also weakened by rising unemployment and what critics say is a failure to make good on promises in 2011 to tackle corruption.

And it faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a "sexual position" on a beach.

The opposition PAM, formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledging to roll back the "Islamisation" of society.