Morocco’s government-formation process has entered a more delicate stage. Prime Minister-designate Fatima Zahra Mansouri, tasked by King Mohammed VI with building a new cabinet after the Authenticity and Modernity Party’s (PAM) win in the September 23 legislative elections, is now negotiating how ministerial posts will be divided among the parties set to form her governing coalition.
Talks have shifted from simply identifying partners to thornier questions: the conditions each party sets for joining, the broad lines of the government’s program, and which ministries each component will control. The clearest scenario on the table pairs PAM with three parties from the Koutla bloc — Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, and the Party of Progress and Socialism. Together, the four would command 207 seats in the House of Representatives, comfortably above the 198-seat threshold needed for an absolute majority.
Still unsettled is the role of a joint parliamentary group formed after the vote by the Constitutional Union and the Social Democratic Movement, which holds 25 seats split 17-8 between the two parties; it has yet to say whether it will back the majority or sit in opposition. The Popular Movement’s position is equally undecided, and its eventual choice could shift the numbers in the chamber. The National Rally of Independents, wrapping up a five-year stint in government, has said it will not push to stay in power and has left the call to its leadership.
Mansouri struck an optimistic note Wednesday evening after meeting veteran Istiqlal leader Nizar Baraka, saying negotiations were unfolding under « favorable conditions » and pledging a press conference once consultations wrap up. She had launched the talks immediately after her September 29 appointment, with political insiders now expecting the cabinet’s composition to be finalized before October 21, barring any last-minute setback.
The stakes go beyond portfolio-sharing: the shape of the coalition will determine how quickly the new government can move on economic and social priorities, at a moment when Morocco’s international partners are watching closely for signs of stability.
