Under Morocco’s constitutional monarchy, the new administration must be submitted for approval by the king, who reserves veto rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akhannouch will likely draw from the main opposition, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) — founded by an influential royal advisor — which came second in the parliamentary elections with 86 seats, as well as the conservative Istiqlal party, which took 81 seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabinet horsetrading is not expected to include the PJD however, which announced that it would switch to its “natural” position as the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swept to power in the wake of the 2011 uprisings around the Middle East and North Africa, the PJD had hoped to secure a third term leading a ruling coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the change of guard, policy shifts are unlikely since major decisions in Morocco still come from King Mohammed VI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head of the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty has already announced a charter for a “new model of development” with a “new generation of reforms and projects” in the coming years, with political parties expected to sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan’s major aims include reducing Morocco’s wealth gap and doubling per-capita economic output by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ko-agr\/ezz\/lg\/hkb\/lb\/mtp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Friday named businessman Aziz Akhannouch to lead a new government after his National Rally of Independents (RNI) thrashed the long-ruling Islamists in parliamentary elections. The king appointed Akhannouch “head of the government and tasked him with forming a new government”, following Wednesday’s polls, a statement from the palace said. The RNI won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats, trouncing the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which had headed the governing coalition for a decade but took just 13 seats, according to results released by the interior ministry. Akhannouch hailed the results as “a victory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[544,545],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n