Morocco’s House of Representatives elected Ahmed Touizi, the Authenticity and Modernity Party candidate and nominee of the coalition leading the government majority, as the new Speaker on Tuesday. He received 220 votes, well ahead of his rival, Idriss Azami, the candidate of the opposition Justice and Development Party.
Ahmed Touizi
Speaker of Morocco’s House of Representatives
- 2021 and 2026
Parliamentary group leadership
Azami received 59 votes in the election, while 90 ballots were declared invalid. Morocco’s House of Representatives has 395 members, and the vote took place as the lower house completed its structures following the latest legislative elections. Touizi previously headed the Authenticity and Modernity Party’s parliamentary group from 2021 to 2026.
- 2011 and 2016
Presidency of the Marrakesh Regional Council
He also headed the Marrakesh Regional Council in central Morocco between 2011 and 2016, and held other responsibilities in elected institutions. Touizi succeeds Rachid Talbi Alami, a senior member of the National Rally of Independents, as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Alami held the post during the 2021–2026 parliamentary term.
Touizi’s election and completion of parliament’s structures
The new Speaker was elected after the legislative elections held on 23 September and the opening of the first session of the first legislative year of the 12th parliamentary term. On Monday, the Authenticity and Modernity, Istiqlal, Socialist Union of Popular Forces, and Progress and Socialism parties announced the formation of a government majority following consultations held by prime minister-designate Fatima Zahra Mansouri.
In a joint statement, the four parties said the new majority comprised political forces that were close ideologically and politically and shared a unified reform vision. They said it was formed after several rounds of consultations led by Mansouri following her appointment by King Mohammed VI to form the government. Morocco’s king tasked Mansouri with the mission on 29 September, after her party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, topped the legislative election results with 97 seats.
Composition of the majority and parties’ seats
The National Rally of Independents came second with 66 seats, followed by the Istiqlal Party in third place with 65 seats, and the Justice and Development Party in fourth with 54 seats. The Popular Movement won 29 seats, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces 26, and the Progress and Socialism Party 19.
The government majority parties hold a combined 207 seats in the House of Representatives, exceeding the minimum required to form a majority, which is 198 of the 395 seats.
