<\/p>\n
King Mohammed VI appointed El Mansouri four days after the election results were announced and tasked the Urban Planning Minister and Marrakesh Mayor with forming a new government.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The centre-right Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 of the 395 parliamentary seats but will require coalition partners to govern.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Political Analyst and Middle East and North Africa Researcher Ibrahim Dean, on Wednesday, described the appointment as historically significant but cautioned that Morocco\u2019s broader political structure was unlikely to change substantially. \u201cIt is significant because El Mansouri is the first female Prime Minister appointed in Morocco and, I think, the second in the Arab world,\u201d Dean said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dean said El Mansouri\u2019s experience in municipal and national government could help address public concerns about education, healthcare and social services.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Dean said PAM would probably seek to reconstitute the previous governing coalition with the National Rally of Independents and Istiqlal Party.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a bit of friction between the two,\u201d Dean said, identifying negotiations over Cabinet positions as a potential obstacle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Democratic Left Federation and Justice and Development Party have reportedly ruled out joining the coalition.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dean said El Mansouri\u2019s rise could encourage greater participation by women in Moroccan politics. \u201cEl Mansouri has been one of the few who has been able to break many glass ceilings,\u201d Dean said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEl Mansouri became Mayor of one of the biggest cities in the country at only 34 or 35. That will inspire women who aspire to political office.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, greater representation alone would not resolve broader economic and social challenges affecting Moroccans across demographic groups.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Youth unemployment, inflation, housing costs, healthcare and education are expected to dominate the new government\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dean said declining voter turnout highlighted growing public distrust in political institutions. Turnout reportedly fell from about 50% in the previous election to 38%. \u201cThat points to growing apathy and distrust in governance,\u201d Dean said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge is to ensure that Moroccans, especially young Moroccans, believe the political process can bring change and results.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dean warned that failure to address unemployment and deteriorating public services could deepen public frustration and lead to further protests.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40421,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-46934","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has become Morocco\u2019s first woman Prime Minister after the Authenticity and Modernity Party emerged as the largest party in parliamentary elections.","published_date":"","news_description":"Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has become Morocco\u2019s first woman Prime Minister after the Authenticity and Modernity Party emerged as the largest party in parliamentary elections.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46935,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46934\/revisions\/46935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=46934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}