Morocco king to replace prime minister
Comes after months of political deadlock
RABAT // The king of Morocco is to appoint a new prime minister, the royal palace announced, after five months of talks on forming a coalition government ended in failure.
“To break the deadlock, the king decided to appoint another member of the PJD (Justice and Development Party) to lead the government within the shortest time possible,” a palace statement said on Wednesday. King Mohammed VI asked the prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, to form a new government after the Islamist PJD won the most seats in elections in October.
The party came to power after the king relinquished some of his near- absolute power after Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011, with Mr Benkirane heading a previous coalition government for five years.
This time, however, the PJD failed to form a majority despite five months of negotiations.
Mr Benkirane proposed to rebuild his outgoing coalition, an alliance comprising a range of parties including Islamists, liberals and former communists. But he faced opposition from Aziz Akhannouch, leader of the National Rally of Independents and the power struggle quickly led to political impasse.
The PJD was the first Islamist party to win an election in Morocco and the first to lead a government. A senior Moroccan official said “this decision, where the Islamist PJD retains control over the forming of a future government, shows the sovereign wants to consolidate the democratic change”.