Morocco's designated PM announces new coalition

RABAT - Morocco's designated prime minister, Aziz Akhannouch, said on Wednesday the three biggest winners of this month's parliamentary election, the liberal RNI and PAM parties and the conservative Istiqlal, had agreed to form a new cabinet.

King Mohammed on Sept. 10 designated Akhannouch, the leader of RNI, to form a new government after his party came first in the election, taking 102 of the 395 seats in parliament.

The three parties would together command a comfortable majority, holding 270 seats compared to the 198 needed to pass legislation.

Before he can announce the cabinet line-up, Akhannouch must clear it with the king, who has the ultimate say on all major issues.

Akhannouch said all three parties shared a common platform in focusing on economic and social reforms.

The moderate Islamist PJD party, which had been the largest in the previous two elections and whose leader had served as prime minister since 2011, crashed to a heavy defeat and said it would join the opposition together with leftist parties.