Abdellatid Ouahbi, the party's leader, aspires to a ministry, as does the mayor of Marrakech, Fatima Zahra Mansouir

Varios miembros del PAM formarán parte del futuro Gobierno marroquí liderado por Akhannouch

PHOTO/AFP - Morocco's Prime Minister-designate Aziz Akhannouch (left) welcomes Abdelatif Ouahbi, president of Morocco's Authenticity and Modernity party, before a meeting in the capital Rabat.

Updated: 19/06/23

Aziz Akhannouch continues to shape the new Moroccan government after winning the parliamentary elections with 102 seats. After meeting with leaders of other parties, such as Abdellatid Ouahbi of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), several Moroccan media have reported on the possible ministers of the future government. Akhannouch's party, the National Rally of Independents, will have to govern in coalition with other parties since, despite winning the elections, it did not obtain an absolute majority.

For this reason, the PAM would enter the national government for the first time, after years in opposition. The centre-left party was the second most voted party, winning 86 seats. In addition, as reported by Le360, five government ministers will be members of the PAM. Among them will be the party's president, Abdellatid Ouahbi, Fatima Zahra Mansouri, the newly elected mayor of Marrakech, and Mehdi Bensai, MP between 2011 and 2016 and former president of the parliament's foreign affairs committee. According to Assabah, Ouahbi will head the Ministry of Justice, Mansouri is the favourite to become the Minister of the Family, while Bensai will be in charge of Youth and Sports.

The next government will retain familiar faces such as Nasser Bourita, foreign minister since 2017. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, and Said Amzazi, Minister of Education, will also remain in office. Although, as rue20 notes, Amzazi could change portfolios.

In addition, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Tourism, will remain in her post during the next government. Alaoui was appointed by King Mohammed VI as head of the Moroccan delegation to the Dubai Expo 2020. Mohamed Benchaâboun, Minister of Economy and Finance, is also likely to keep his post.

Among the cabinets that will undergo changes are the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Interior. These portfolios could be headed by provincial governors who aspire to political ascension, such as Mohamed Yacoubi of Rabat or Abdeslam Bikrat of Laayoune.

Akhannouch also met with Nizar Baraka of the nationalist Istiqlal party and Driss Lachgar, president of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP). After the meeting, Lachgar, who won 35 seats in the parliamentary elections, announced that he had not yet received any offer to participate in the future government. He also insisted on being involved in the new administration.

"We believe that the USFP's position must be an integral part of the government's authority," Lachgar said. The USFP has also expressed its "legitimate ambition to be part of the government team, while respecting the choices of the prime minister appointed to form it". It also stressed its "willingness to serve the country in any position that will allow it to accompany this new phase".

On the other hand, the Islamists, who suffered a heavy defeat on Election Day, have already announced that they will become part of the opposition. However, the opposition will be led by the Progress and Socialism Party (PPS), which won more votes than the Development and Justice Party (PDJ).

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