Less than two weeks after Morocco’s parliamentary elections, King Mohammed VI on September 19 chose Abbas el-Fassi, leader of the nationalist Istiqlal (Independence) Party, as Morocco’s next prime minister. On September 7, Morocco’s parliamentary elections ended in a win for the Istiqlal Party, a partner in Morocco’s ruling coalition, though marked by a record-low turnout. Istiqlal won 52 seats in the 325-member lower house, up from 48 in the last parliament, followed by the opposition Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) with 47 seats, and the Union of Socialist Popular Forces (USFP) with 36 seats. The complex electoral system, based on proportional representation, makes it very difficult for a single party to gain an absolute majority. Intense negotiations over forming a new governing coalition will thus follow. All eyes are now set on the appointment of a new cabinet, which should take place in the next few weeks. According to
