Ahmed Touizi won the presidency of Morocco’s Chamber of Representatives with 220 votes as preparations continued for a new government. His opponent Driss Azami El Idrissi received 59 votes, while 90 ballots were invalid. Touizi pledged equal treatment for majority and opposition deputies and called for stronger legislative work and scrutiny.
Ahmed Touizi was elected president of Morocco’s Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of its national parliament, with 220 votes. The Authenticity and Modernity Party candidate defeated Driss Azami El Idrissi of the Justice and Development Party, who received 59 votes. Another 90 ballots were invalid. The election took place while Fatima-Ezzahra El Mansouri continued preparations to form a new government.[1], [2]
Touizi drew support from his own party, Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Party of Progress and Socialism, as well as other parliamentary groups. Istiqlal deputy Abdelaziz Abba, the oldest member at 84, chaired the session. Rabat deputy Omar Benjelloun of the Alliance of the Left objected that the invalid-ballot total had not been formally announced. His intervention did not overturn the result.[1]
In his first remarks Touizi pledged equal distance from majority and opposition and respect for the Constitution and chamber rules. He called for stronger legislative work, scrutiny of government action and closer attention to citizens. He also promised conditions allowing all deputies to fulfil their mandates. Secret voting prevents certainty about which groups cast the invalid ballots. A congratulatory message to King Mohammed VI preceded the session’s close.[1]
