Video: From Coalition Negotiation Secrets, Family Code & Rural Housing Reforms to the Maghrib Call to Prayer — Inside PM Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri’s Historic Address and 204-Vote Confidence Victory

FesNews Media – Rabat: Morocco’s newly appointed government, headed by Prime Minister Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, officially won the confidence of the House of Representatives by an absolute majority of 204 votes against 127, following a decisive constitutional plenary session chaired by Speaker Ahmed Touizi and marked by a comprehensive policy response from the Prime Minister.

Electoral Integrity, 38% Voter Turnout, and Appointing Morocco’s First Female Prime Minister

Opening her reply to parliamentary groups, Prime Minister Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri congratulated HM King Mohammed VI and the national futsal team before addressing the debate surrounding the legislative elections. She emphasized that voting took place across 24,000 polling stations under judicial supervision and cross-party consultations, calling on all political parties to engage in collective self-criticism regarding citizen abstention, the 38% turnout rate, and the urgent need to renew political elites, while expressing pride in the Royal trust placed in her as the first woman to lead a Moroccan government.

Inside the Coalition Negotiations and Programmatic Coherence

Addressing the formation of the ruling coalition, Prime Minister El Mansouri disclosed details of her political consultations with party leaders—including Mohand Laenser, Mohamed Ouzzine, Mohamed Joudar, and Nabil Benabdallah—noting that every party expressed readiness to join the government except the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the Federation of the Democratic Left. She underscored that her final choice prioritized programmatic harmony and shared reform commitments over a purely numerical majority.

Family Code Reform, Rural Construction Permits, and Criminalizing Illicit Enrichment

El Mansouri outlined the government’s flagship legislative and social commitments, led by the comprehensive reform of the Family Code (Moudawana), strengthening public integrity by enacting laws against illicit enrichment and conflicts of interest, overhauling urban planning procedures to simplify building permits in rural and mountainous areas, accelerating advanced regionalization and administrative deconcentration within a two-year horizon, and empowering youth and women.

Judicial Independence and Pausing for the Maghrib Call to Prayer

Amid heated interruptions from opposition benches and firm intervention by House Speaker Ahmed Touizi to uphold parliamentary order, Prime Minister El Mansouri firmly rejected accusations of corruption and treason, stressing that Morocco’s judiciary operates independently on all cases without exception. She also paused her address out of respect for the Maghrib call to prayer (Adhan), rejecting any political instrumentalization of Islam, which Moroccans have inherited across generations.

The Historic Roll-Call Vote: House of Representatives Grants Confidence by 204 Votes

At the conclusion of the sitting, House Speaker Ahmed Touizi submitted the Government Program to a public roll-call vote in accordance with Article 88 of the Constitution and Articles 260 and 261 of the Rules of Procedure. Out of 331 deputies voting, 204 voted in favor and 127 voted against, with zero abstentions, officially investing the government of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri.