Morocco's King Mohammed VI names new prime minister

Saad Eddine El Othmani is Morocco’s new prime minister.

Othmani of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) was named on Friday by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.

The king went on to ask the new prime minister to form a government. He replaces outgoing prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane.

The appointment of the new prime minister comes after five months of talks on forming a coalition government ended in failure.

Othmani was foreign minister from 2011-2013 and had since served as the head of the PJD’s parliamentary group.

Under Morocco’s election law no party can win an outright majority in the 395-seat parliament, making coalition governments a necessity in a system where the king still holds ultimate power.