Denver – Aziz Akhannouch, Morocco’s newly appointed Prime Minister, has reported progress in consultations to form a new government coalition during a statement to press Wednesday.
Akhannouch said he “held meetings with a group of political party leaders, where each party presented its vision” for the formation of a new government. The new coalition is mainly composed of the political parties that won the most seats during last week’s general elections.
After today’s meeting, Akhannouch also revealed that both the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the United Socialist Party have decided to align with the main opposition group within Morocco’s parliament. The PJD ruled Morocco for a decade before suffering a crushing defeat in the recent elections.
Akhannouch met with the leaders of several of the parties forming the new coalition government. Among these were Secretary-General of the Progress and Socialism Party Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah, Secretary-General of the Social Democratic Movement Party Abdel-Samad Arshan, Secretary-General of the Democratic Forces Front Mustafa Benali, and coordinator of the Alliance of the Left Abdel Salam Aziz.
Akhannouch began initial meetings on Monday, consulting with officials from the Authenticity and Modernity Party, Istiqlal Party, Socialist Union of Popular Forces, the Popular Movement, and the Constitutional Union Party.
Akhannouch and the RNI party secured the parliamentary majority with 102 seats after the September 8th elections. The Authenticity and Modernity Party followed with 86 seats, the Istiqlal party with 81 seats, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces with 35 seats, the Popular Movement with 29 seats, the Progress and Socialism party with 21 seats, the Constitutional Party with 18 seats, the PJD with 13 seats, and 22 seats divided among the other political parties.
After securing the victory, Akhannouch and his government coalition will now focus on implementing new legislation to tackle pressing issues on both the domestic and international fronts. These issues will likely include guiding the country out of the third resurgence of the COVID-19 crisis, in addition to managing the ongoing political row with neighboring Algeria.
