Morocco’s King Appoints Billionaire Akhannouch to Head Government after Election Win

THE GUARDIAN: King Mohammed VI asks businessman to form government after his RNI* party trounced the long-ruling Islamists

Businessman Aziz Akhannouch’s RNI party won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats. He is is worth $2bn, according to Forbes magazine. Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has named businessman Aziz Akhannouch to lead a new government after his liberal RNI party thrashed the long-ruling Islamists in parliamentary elections.

The king appointed Akhannouch “head of the government and tasked him with forming a new government”,following Wednesday’s polls, a statement from the palace said on Friday.

The RNI won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats, trouncing the moderate PJD Islamists, which had headed the governing coalition for a decade but took just 13 seats, according to results released by the interior ministry.

Akhannouch hailed the results as “a victory for democracy”.

The billionaire businessman – worth $2bn according to Forbes – has led the RNI since 2016. » | Agence France-Presse | Saturday, September 11, 2021

*RNI stands for Rassemblement National des Indépendants. In English known as 'The National Rally of Independents'. (التجمع الوطني للأحرار)