The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) has won the general election in Morocco during an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in 20 years. While it was a clear winner, it does not have a majority to form the government and must form a coalition with the other two runners-up. Laurent Allais speculates on who is likely to become Prime Minister.
What lessons can be drawn from the parliamentary elections of 23 September 2026 in Morocco? First and foremost, the lack of interest among citizens: the turnout stood at barely 38 % of registered voters, the lowest in nearly 20 years.
The winning party, The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), is part of the outgoing governing majority, although the balance of power has shifted somewhat within a coalition of parties that have once again become rivals. Finally, new faces – particularly women – are emerging on the Moroccan political scene.
Whilst economists and international institutions praise the merits of the Moroccan economy in terms of growth, resilience and industrialisation, unemployment
PAM has won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. Far from an absolute majority, it will have to form a new alliance with other parties. Aziz Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents party secured 66 MPs, just one more than its partner in the governing coalition, the Istiqlal Party, which came third in the election.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI will call upon a member of the PAM to form the next Moroccan government.
Several names have already been put forward, including that of Fouzi Lekjaa, the current Minister for the Budget and president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
The Moroccan press has also mentioned the name of Fatima Ezzahra El-Mansouri, Minister for Regional Planning and mayor of Marrakesh.
If King Mohammed VI appoints her to lead the next government, the 50-year-old would become the first woman to serve as Morocco’s Prime Minister and only the second woman to head a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
These elections have also been marked by a breakthrough for the Justice and Development Party (PJD), an Islamist opposition party, whose number of MPs has risen from 13 to 54.
The party campaigned in particular on the fight against corruption, the cost of living and the improvement of public services. It is already claiming to have won the vote of Moroccan youth, though this remains to be confirmed.
The election took place a few weeks after the tragedy in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave, which served as a reminder of the desire of many young people to seek exile. This comes a year after the uprising led by ‘ GenZ 212 ’.
As for the other parties, the Popular Movement secured 29 seats, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces won 26 seats, the Party of Progress and Socialism took 19, and the Constitutional Union 17.
In any case, the turnout (38.02%) confirms Moroccans’ distrust of their political class and the public’s concern over unemployment and inequality. In 2021, turnout in the parliamentary elections had narrowly exceeded 50%, but the vote was held alongside municipal and regional elections, which is not the case in 2026.
Observers have expressed surprise that the election was held on a Wednesday, which meant that private-sector employees had to make arrangements with their employers to go and vote.
Unemployment remains the main source of concern for Moroccans. Whilst it is relatively low (5% to 5.5%) in rural areas, it is high (around 13%) in cities, and particularly affects young people and women.
Under these circumstances, young people are losing interest in politics: only 4 % of 18–24-year-olds are reportedly registered to vote. It is difficult for Aziz Akhannouch, considered one of the country’s wealthiest individuals worth $1.6bn according to Forbes, to tout his policies on tackling inequality.
It is just as difficult for the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to tout his achievements, given that young people protested last year against the scale of the budgets allocated to the upcoming 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be partly hosted by Morocco.
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Will Morocco get its first woman Prime Minister?
Aggregated summary from an independent source. Read the original at NewAfricanMagazine.