Morocco’s New House Speaker Pledges to Keep Equal Distance from Majority, Opposition

Rabat – Speaker of the House of Representatives Ahmed Touizi pledged Tuesday evening to keep an equal distance from the opposition and the majority.

In a statement to MAP following his election as Speaker of the House, Touizi stressed that he would work to provide MPs with the necessary means to fulfil their duties, in accordance with the Royal Guidelines set out in the Sovereign’s Speech at the opening of the current legislature.

Reaffirming his determination to implement the provisions of the Constitution and the House’s Rules of Procedure, the new Speaker said he was fully aware of the share of responsibility to shoulder.

He further expressed hope that, with the support of the House Bureau, parliamentary group leaders and standing committee chairs, he would help enhance the image of the House.

Touizi secured 220 of the 369 votes cast, against 59 votes for Driss El Azami El Idrissi of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), while 90 ballots were declared invalid.

The election, held under the supervision of the House’s interim presiding officer, Abdelaziz Abba, was conducted in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.

Under this article, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the members of its Bureau, the chairs of the standing committees and their respective bureaux are elected at the beginning of each legislature and again in its third year, during the April session, for the remainder of the legislature.