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Moroccan king appoints Islamist leader prime minister

Arab World Materials 29 November 2011 18:34 (UTC +04:00)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Tuesday appointed Islamist leader Abdelilah Benkirane prime minister, tasking him with forming a government, the official news agency MAP said, dpa reported.
Moroccan king appoints Islamist leader prime minister

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Tuesday appointed Islamist leader Abdelilah Benkirane prime minister, tasking him with forming a government, the official news agency MAP said, dpa reported.

The monarch received Benkirane, 57, in the central Moroccan town of Midelt, where Mohammed VI had travelled to launch a solidarity campaign.

Benkirane's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took a clear victory, winning 107 of the 395 parliamentary seats in Friday's elections.

Morocco's new constitution, which was introduced partly to calm down Arab Spring protests in the North African kingdom, obliges the king to appoint the prime minister - now officially called chief of government - from the party with the most seats in parliament.

Benkirane was expected to seek alliances with traditional secular parties, such as outgoing prime minister Abbas el-Fassi's nationalist Istiqlal, to form a coalition government.

The PJD's victory was the second for a moderate Islamist party in democratic elections in North Africa after popular uprisings toppled autocrats in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, where the Ennahda party won an election last month.

The PJD initially focused on issues such as a ban on alcohol, but has since shifted its focus to broader social issues like education and health.

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