On October 16, 2026, King Mohamed VI appointed a new government following the elections to the Chamber of Representatives held on September 23 and the subsequent designation, on September 29, of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as head of the Government. In accordance with constitutional provisions, El Mansouri presented her government program to both parliamentary chambers in a joint session on October 19 and must secure the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives.
A Woman at the Helm of the Government
For the first time in Morocco’s history, a woman leads the Government: Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, coordinator of the collegial leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), the party that won the September elections.
The 2011 Constitution establishes that the monarch appoints the head of government from among the members of the party that finished first in the elections to the Chamber of Representatives, taking into account the results (Art. 47). This flexibility fueled speculation about the possible designation of Fouzi Lekjaa — minister of Budgets in the outgoing cabinet and president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, who had joined PAM two months before the elections and had played a prominent role during the campaign, in addition to being socially very popular. The fact is that Mohamed VI — always advised by his circle of counselors — leaned toward the modernization imprint that El Mansouri’s election could offer. Fouzi Lekjaa would receive the important portfolio of Economy, Finance and Public Efficiency with the appointment of the new Government.
“Mohamed VI —always advised by his circle of counselors— leaned toward the modernization imprint that El Mansouri’s selection could offer”
The designation of El Mansouri carries a significant symbolic component in terms of accessing the higher echelons of decision-making for women. Nevertheless, real progress will be measured in concrete legislative and executive milestones; among them, the crucial test for this legislature will be the pending reform of the Mudawana (Family Code), which should represent a substantial advancement of women’s rights.
A Four-Party Government Coalition
Fatima El Mansouri has formed a Four-party governing coalition. Government coalitions are a necessity in Morocco due to the high parliamentary fragmentation caused by an electoral system designed to avoid a dominant party and to distribute power among several political forces.
As the winner of the legislative elections, the PAM has acted as the formateur party, leading the formation of the new governing coalition. This is the first time PAM has headed the Executive, after participating as a partner in the outgoing government of Aziz Akhannouch (2021-2026) of the National Rally of Independents (RNI). Created in 2008 from the palace milieu to counter the rise of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), the PAM saw its ambitions as the ruling party curbed by the protests of the February 20 Movement during the Arab Spring, a climate of discontent that facilitated the Islamist victory in 2011.
From the perspective of coalition theory, the present government formula responds to a minimal winning coalition, where the concurrence of all members is essential to guarantee an absolute majority and no other party is necessary. To ensure parliamentary stability, the PAM (97 seats) has formed the Government with three other political forces: the nationalist Istiqlal Party (PI, 65 seats), the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP, 26 seats), and the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS, 19 seats), totaling 207 of the 395 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.
These three parties formed the historic alliance of democratic opposition, Kutla al-Dimocratiyya, which led to the so-called government of alternation of the socialist Abderramán Yussufi (1998-2002), intended to facilitate the transition from the reign of Hassan II after his death — on July 23, 1999 — to that of his son Mohamed VI. The participation of these three parties in the Government does not imply a re-edition of Kutla, as these formations have for more than two decades developed their own agendas. Nevertheless, their inclusion in the current Executive carries a strong symbolic charge, shaping the official profile of the PAM-led Government headed by El Mansouri.
“The participation of these three parties in the Government does not constitute a re-edition of Kutla, as for more than two decades these formations have developed their own agendas”
Ideologically, the new government coalition comprises a center-left party (PAM), two socialists (USFP and PPS) and one conservative (PI). Fatima El Mansouri ruled out bringing in other political forces that had proposed joining the Government, such as the ruling Popular Movement, which would have resulted in an oversized coalition, oversized coalition with a greater ideological distance among its members. Nonetheless, in Moroccan political practice, .
Composition of the Government
The composition of the Government in Morocco is broad. The Council of Government consists of 32 members: the head of the Government, the Secretary-General of the Government, nineteen ministers and eleven delegated ministers.
The distribution of portfolios reflects the parliamentary weight of each coalition partner: the PAM takes on, in addition to the head of government, seven ministries and three delegated ministries; the PI, three ministries and three delegated ministries; the USFP, two ministries and three delegated ministries; and the PPS, two ministries and one delegated ministry. In addition to party ministers, there are seven independent members. Four of them hold the strategic “sovereignty” ministries (Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Religious Affairs), whose designation is the prerogative of the monarch, as they are directly within his competence. The remaining three correspond to the General Secretariat of the Government and to the portfolios of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation and Tourism, Craftsmanship and the Solidarity Economy.
“The distribution of portfolios reflects the parliamentary weight of each coalition partner: PAM takes, in addition to the head of government, seven ministries”
Pride in the milestone of Fatima El Mansouri notwithstanding, the presence of women in the Executive remains limited. Besides the head of the Government, only six of the remaining thirty-one positions are held by women: two ministers and four delegated ministers. In total, they account for seven of the 32 members (21.9%). Specifically, for the PAM, the delegated minister for Vocational Training and Qualification; the delegated minister responsible for Relations with Parliament and Civil Society; and the delegated minister responsible for Habitat and Urban Policy; for the PI, the minister of Family, Social Development and Equality; for the USFP and coming from civil society, the delegated minister for Administrative Reform; and for the PPS, the minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development.
Reconfiguration of the Opposition to the Government
After five years at the helm of the Government, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) leads the opposition with 66 seats, from which it will exercise a “moderate opposition” in line with its profile as an official party. Its shift in role can be interpreted as a palace strategy to prevent the Islamist PJD (54 seats) from taking the leadership of the opposition bloc. During the 2021-2026 legislature, the governing alliance among the three main parliamentary forces (RNI, PAM and PI) left the opposition with minimal representation. This allowed the PJD, even with only thirteen representatives, to become the main voice of criticism in the Chamber of Representatives. On the other hand, RNI’s move to the opposition lays the groundwork for future controlled alternations between this party, the PAM, or even the PI. In the new parliamentary landscape, it is foreseeable that the PJD and the Left Alliance (eight seats) will articulate the most belligerent opposition to the Government.
Challenges for the New Government
In Morocco, executive power is shared between the Crown and the Government. The king chairs the Council of Ministers, the body charged with deliberating on legislative projects and matters of special importance. It is also up to the monarchy to set the major orientations of governmental and parliamentary action, as Mohamed VI did in his October 9 opening address of the legislative year. Less visible, the coordination work with the Executive continues to be channeled through members of the Royal Cabinet.
“It is up to the monarchy to set the major orientations of governmental and parliamentary action”
The media often highlights that co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup represents the main immediate challenge for the new cabinet. For this, a program of €20 billion in infrastructure investments is planned, to be added to works already completed or underway. The government also foresees the creation of around 360,000 jobs, though the nature and duration of these jobs have not been specified.
< p>Nevertheless, the new Government aims to go further, aware of the deep social discontent provoked by the modest returns of the World Cup, the widening social inequalities associated with economic growth, and the critical state of public health and education. Thus, the 2026-2031 government program, presented by Fatima El Mansouri to Parliament, frames its priorities around three major axes. The first is the strengthening of social protection, channeled through direct aid to vulnerable families, easier access to housing, and the reinforcement of basic public services. The second seeks institutional regeneration through the fight against corruption, the battle against illicit enrichment, and the promotion of transparency in public procurement. The third aims for economic reactivation, setting targets of 5% growth, 2% inflation, and a fiscal deficit near 3%. In this framework, particular attention is given to youth training and employment programs — the protagonist of the GenZ212 protest movement in 2025 — in a country where 2.9 million young people between fifteen and twenty-nine are neither studying nor working.
