Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Monday reappointed outgoing Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and instructed him to form a new government after his moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) came first in Friday’s legislative elections.
Under constitutional reforms adopted in 2011 to quell pro-democracy protests, the prime minister must be appointed from the largest party in parliament.
The PJD won 125 out of 395 seats in the House of Representatives. The three smaller parties in its outgoing coalition government won 76 seats between them, meaning that the same coalition could again take office if the parties can reach agreement.
Observers do not expect a coalition deal between the PJD and the second-largest party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which is thought to be close to the monarchy and is a fierce rival of the Islamists.
