Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, newly designated as Morocco’s head of government, steps into executive power backed by a mandate from her party. Her political trajectory has been shaped by historic milestones and fierce institutional battles, including a dramatic legal challenge over the Marrakech mayoralty in 2009 that she ultimately won on appeal.
Inside the Skhirat Extraordinary National Council
Four days following her appointment by King Mohammed VI, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) convened an extraordinary national council session at the Palais des Congrès in Skhirat on Saturday, October 3. During the proceedings, party members and leaders debated the configuration of the incoming majority. Hicham El Mhajri, a member of the PAM political bureau, openly urged support for excluding the National Rally of Independents (RNI)—their partner from the outgoing legislative term—amid applause from the room.
Responding to the floor, El Mansouri acknowledged the sentiment directly. “Votre message concernant les Indépendants est parvenu, et le message sur ce sujet était clair avant cette session,” she stated, adding in an aside: “Pas de gouvernement avec les Indépendants.” Yet, the official communique released at the conclusion of the council’s work omitted any explicit ban on the RNI, instead delegating negotiation authority to a four-member committee.
Delegated Authority and Negotiation Frameworks
The newly empowered negotiation committee consists of Fatima-Zahra El Mansouri, Fouzi Lekjaa, Ahmed Akhchichine, and Abdellatif Ouahbi. This core group has steered consultations since September 30, holding initial meetings with an RNI delegation led by party president Mohamed Chouki alongside Rachid Talbi Alami and Mohamed Boussaïd.
Despite the exclusion rhetoric voiced by certain PAM figures, the formal party line maintains a formal openness to consultations with all political formations. The PAM’s heavily favored trajectory leans toward a political government uniting the party with the Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), and the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS)—effectively reviving the historical Koutla coalition.
Coalition Mathematics and Parliamentary Arithmetic
The arithmetic surrounding the proposed four-party configuration reveals a calculated path to governance. A coalition comprising the PAM, Istiqlal, USFP, and PPS would secure 207 seats in the House of Representatives. This comfortably surpasses the 198-seat threshold required for an absolute majority.
However, bypassing the RNI—which holds 66 seats—places immense bargaining leverage in the hands of Istiqlal, possessing 65 seats, without which the PAM cannot form a majority under this specific alignment. Meanwhile, other political voices have addressed constitutional and historical precedents regarding female leadership. Mustapha Ramid weighed in on public debates concerning women in executive authority, arguing that Morocco’s constitutional framework under Article 47 rests strictly on democratic competence rather than gender exclusions.
The Road Ahead and Unresolved Coalition Demands
With national councils concluding their extraordinary sessions across Rabat, Salé, and Skhirat, the true bargaining phase has officially commenced. While the PAM’s internal preferences point toward the former Koutla parties, no binding agreement has been finalized.
How will each coalition partner leverage their individual parliamentary weight when structural demands and ministerial portfolios are formally placed on the table?
