Aziz Akhannouch

Akhannouch with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rabat, Morocco, on 29 March 2022

In the 2021 general election, his party placed first, winning 222 seats of the 435 seats, while the governing Justice and Development Party lost 113 of its previous seats. On 10 September 2021, he was appointed as Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI, succeeding Saadeddine Othmani, and was tasked by the King to form a new government.[2][23][24][25][26]

Akhannouch announced the formation of an official coalition government alongside the PAM and Istiqlal parties on 22 September 2021,[27] thus officializing his status as Prime Minister of Morocco. On 7 October 2021, Akhannouch assumed office as the new Prime Minister.[28][29]

In late October, Akhannouch was criticized by Moroccan citizens for wearing a pin of the MENA region that excluded Western Sahara while attending a Green Initiative event in Saudi Arabia.[30]

In September 2022, Akhannouch attended the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.[31]

On 11 October 2022, Akhannouch met with Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg along with his business partners in Rabat,[32] in order to boost economic trade between Morocco and Luxembourg.[33][34]

In December 2022, he attended the United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2022 and met with US President Joe Biden.[35]

On 1 February 2023, Akhannouch participated with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez in the 12th edition of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting in Rabat,[36][37] in which both countries signed a total of 19 bilateral agreements concerning a plethora of sectors.[38][39]

In July 2023, Akhannouch attended the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.[40]

In 2015 and 2016, after the Moroccan government of Abdelilah Benkirane decided to liberalize fuel prices, the fuel companies decided to collude with each other and not reduce prices. Among those companies was the Akwa company, owned by Akhannouch.[42]

The profits of these companies amounted to about 17 billion dirhams (around US$1.75 billion), and several parties described them as immoral and illegal profits on the back of the Moroccan people. There were still several demands to restore them, whether in Parliament or in the media.[43][44][45][46]

During the period following the case, the president of the Competition Council, Driss Guerraoui, prepared a report on Akhannouch's illegal profits, and submitted it to King Mohammed VI.[47] In March 2021, Guerraoui was relieved of his position and replaced by Ahmed Rahhou.[48]

As of 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture spent several million dirhams annually in massive advertising in the country's print press.[4] If a newspaper criticized Akhannouch or his Maroc Vert plan, it immediately saw the Ministry's advertisements cut off, along with those of the Akwa group.[4]

In 2017, Akhannouch sued three journalists from the Badil news site for having criticized him. He demanded that they pay him 1 million dirhams.[49]

In the spring of 2018, Morocco was shaken by a boycott movement launched against Centrale Danone, Sidi Ali (mineral water) and Akwa's subsidiary Afriquia. The three brands, which are major distributors of three basic products – milk, water and fuel – were accused by the population of charging very high prices. The movement became extremely popular, leading to reactions from the government.[9][50][51]

According to the French think tank School of Thought on Economic Warfare (EPGE), which investigated the boycott movement, it was a campaign of "hierarchized" disinformation "therefore orchestrated by a precise political agenda", which would have benefited from a substantial budget, with for example between 100,000 and 500,000 euros for the purchase of online space to disseminate the ideas of the movement, as well as expensive donation campaigns to the poor to mobilize public opinion. According to the same study, the movement of Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane would be behind this boycott campaign with the aim of removing Akhanouch from the political scene.[52]

Akhannouch himself said he "ignored" the boycott campaign while speaking to Jeune Afrique, accusing opponents of "exploiting Moroccans' hardship for political goals".[10][53]

On 17 November 2018, Driss Guerraoui was appointed by King Mohammed VI as president of the Competition Council.[54] In 2020, the Council recognized that the three brands targeted by the 2018 boycott campaign had reached an agreement on prices.[55]

In December 2019, during a meeting in Milan with Moroccans living in Italy, Akhannouch declared, "Whoever believes that they can come and insult the institutions of the country has no place in Morocco. Whoever wants to live in Morocco must respect its motto and its democracy. Insults will not move us forward. And excuse me, but it is not justice that should do this job. […] We must re-educate Moroccans who lack education."[56] The remarks triggered strong reactions from Moroccan politicians and citizens as well as a call for the resuming of the 2018 boycott of his companies.[56] TelQuel attributed his comments in relation to the arrest & prosecution of a Moroccan YouTuber after he published a video criticizing King Mohammed VI's speeches.[56][57] The Milan comments were alluded to in the popular music video "M3a L3echrane" by Dizzy DROS.[58]

In the runup to the 2021 general election, Abdellatif Ouahbi, Secretary General of the Authenticity and Modernity Party which later joined the government coalition, accused Akhannouch of "flooding the political scene with money", while the Justice and Development Party heading the outgoing coalition condemned the "obscene use of funds to lure voters and some polling station supervisors", without naming any parties.[59] Additionally, the party also alleged "serious irregularities" in the voting process.[8] Nabil Benabdallah, head of the Party of Progress and Socialism, criticized the RNI during an interview for giving sums of money to lure candidates from other parties "in full view of everyone".[59] An RNI spokesperson contacted by Agence France-Presse said the accusations had been "rejected" by the party, and declined any further comments.[59]

Throughout less than 200 days into Akhannouch's time in office, he became a target of Moroccans calling for his resignation, accusing him of corruption. The prices of fuel and several essential food products have skyrocketed in recent months, as the price of a 5-litre bottle of vegetable oil increased by 27 dirhams, while the price of 25 kg of semolina, widely used in Moroccan cuisine, increased by 50 dirhams. The inflation affected many vulnerable families, in which more than 430,000 Moroccans lost their jobs.[5][6]

In 2022, as fuel prices continued to rise, an online campaign emerged with tens of thousands of users on Twitter and Facebook using the three French hashtags #7dh_Gazoil, #8dh_Essence and #Degage_Akhannouch ("Get out Akhannouch") to call for an immediate decrease in gas prices, accusing Akhannouch and his company Afriquia of benefiting from the crisis.[10][60][61][62] Abdelilah Benkirane, head of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and former Prime Minister, said that he "didn't support" the online campaign, adding that "only Sidna (our lord) [King Mohammed VI] has the competence (…) to put an end to this cabinet and call for the organisation of early legislative elections".[10][63] Nevertheless, several PJD members participated in the campaign.[10]

On 8 September 2023, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 M_w hit Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco.[64][65] Akhannouch received criticism from the Moroccan people for his absence and lack of management towards those affected by the earthquake.[66][67] 2 days after the earthquake occurred, Akhannouch sent his condolences to families affected by the disaster.[68][69][70] Akhannouch pledged to rebuild all infrastructures destroyed by earthquake.[71]