House of Representatives: Ahmed Touizi Elected Speaker With 220 of 369 Votes
The House of Representatives elected Ahmed Touizi (PAM) as speaker with 220 of 369 votes, ahead of Driss Azami El Idrissi, who won just 59, at the first sitting of the 12th legislative term.
Morocco's House of Representatives on Tuesday elected Ahmed Touizi of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) as the new speaker of parliament's lower house, at the first sitting of the 12th legislative term. Touizi won 220 of the 369 votes cast, ahead of his rival Driss Azami El Idrissi, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) candidate, who got only 59, while 90 ballots were spoiled.
A sitting chaired under Article 62 of the Constitution
The sitting was chaired by Abdelaziz Aba, head of the House's provisional bureau, in application of Article 62 of the Constitution and the House's rules of procedure, which provide for the election of the speaker, the bureau and the chairs of the standing committees at the start of each legislative term, and again in the third year during the April session. Touizi had chaired the PAM parliamentary group during the outgoing term.
The step is part of setting up the institutions of the 12th legislative term, less than two weeks after King Mohammed VI tasked Fatima Zahra Mansouri with forming the government, following the 23 September elections that produced the House's new party map. The PAM, to which Touizi belongs, leads the new governing majority alongside the Istiqlal Party, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Party of Progress and Socialism, in a four-party coalition officially announced on 12 October.
A pledge to keep equal distance between majority and opposition
In his first speech after his election, Touizi pledged neutrality between majority and opposition groups, saying: "I will make sure to keep the same distance between the opposition and the majority." He said the 12th legislative term opens in exceptional circumstances, calling on the legislature to keep pace with Morocco's economic ambitions and tie growth to social and territorial justice, and to be guided by the directives of the royal speech at the opening of the legislative session in setting the House's priorities.
On the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, the new speaker called for mobilising every diplomatic tool to consolidate Morocco's gains, recalling UN Security Council resolution 2797 and describing parliamentary diplomacy as a lever supporting the country's official diplomacy. He also called for raising the quality of legislative work by making good use of both parliamentary and government initiatives in drafting laws.