Morocco Court Strips El Mansouri, 9 Ministers of MP Seats
Morocco's Constitutional Court declared vacant the parliamentary seats of PM El Mansouri and nine ministers, but rejected a similar request against MP Khayr.
Morocco's Constitutional Court has declared vacant ten parliamentary seats, including that of head of government Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri and nine members of her cabinet, after finding an incompatibility between a parliamentary mandate and ministerial duties, in a ruling issued Wednesday and reported by le360, while Alyaoum24 and Hespress report that the same Court, in the same ruling, rejected a similar request concerning MP Madiha Khayr.
In decision No. 294/26, issued Wednesday 4 November 2026, the Court relied on Article 14 of Organic Law No. 27.11 on the House of Representatives, which bars holding a seat in the House of Representatives and government membership at the same time. Under this incompatibility rule, a parliamentary mandate ends automatically for anyone who becomes a minister, with no need for a later resignation procedure.
Who are the ten whose seats became vacant?
Besides Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, elected in the Médina-Sidi Youssef Ben Ali constituency in Marrakech, the Constitutional Court declared vacant the seats of nine ministers:
| Name | Constituency |
|---|---|
| Abdellatif Ouahbi | Taroudant North |
| Ryad Mezzour | Benslimane |
| Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid | Rabat-Mohit |
| Azzeddine El Midaoui | Rhamna |
| Abdessamad Kayouh | Taroudant South |
| Abderrahim Chahid | Zagora |
| Najwa Koukouss | Casablanca-Anfa |
| Omar Hajira | Oujda-Angad |
| Rachid Hamouni | Boulemane |
The Court noted that the parliament speaker's request concerning Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka had become "moot," since an earlier Constitutional Court decision, issued on 3 November 2026, had already declared his Larache-constituency seat vacant.
Why did Madiha Khayr escape the same fate?
By contrast, the Constitutional Court ruled inadmissible the parliament speaker's request concerning MP Madiha Khayr, elected in the Beni Mellal constituency. According to the ruling, Khayr was appointed to government on 16 October 2026, before a royal decree relieved her of her government duties on 18 October 2026, just two days after her appointment. The speaker's request concerning her was not registered with the Constitutional Court's general secretariat until 23 October 2026, five days after her dismissal.
The Court concluded that the speaker's request, in the part concerning Khayr, "does not meet the legal condition required to trigger the seat-vacancy procedure," since the incompatibility had already ended before the request was filed. Khayr therefore keeps her parliamentary mandate.
How will the vacant seats be filled?
The Constitutional Court ordered its decision published in the Official Bulletin and notified to the head of government's office and to parliament. The ruling opens the way for the ten outgoing ministers to be automatically replaced by the next-ranked candidates on their parties' lists from the 23 September 2026 elections, with no need for by-elections, restoring the full numerical strength of the majority and opposition groups in the House of Representatives.