Benkirane refuses to comment on King’s Decision

The ousted Head of the Moroccan Government, Abdelilah Benkirane, has refused to speak about his dismissal by King Mohammed VI, saying that there are no comments about King Mohammed VI’s decision.

The Justice and Development Party (JDP) members held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the King’s decision to dismiss Abdelilah Benkirane and appoint another JDP member as his replacement.

After King Mohammed VI’s removal of Abdelilah Benkirane from his duties as appointed head of government yesterday and his decision to appoint another leading member of the JDP to lead negotiations to form a new coalition government, three names have emerged as potential candidates for the job.

All three are ranking members of the JDP and have held important positions in the two governments headed by Benkirane between January 2012 and October 2016.

The three ministers are Minister of Justice and Individual Freedoms, Mustapha Ramid, the former Foreign Minister, Saadeddine Othmani, and Minister of Equipment and Transport, Aziz Rabbah.

The Moroccan monarch received Benkirane earlier on Wednesday to inform him of his decision to appoint another leading member of the JDP to head the government.
King Mohammed made the decision to dismiss Benkirane 48 hours after his return from an African tour, which lasted from more than five weeks.
 
Two days after the legislative elections held on October 7, 2016, King Mohammed received Abdelilah Benkirane, appointed, and entrusted him with forming a new coalition government.
 
But after over five months of negotiations with different political parties, he was unable to break the deadlock and form a government.