Morocco’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) has emerged as the largest force in the parliamentary election, winning 97 of the 395 seats but falling well short of the majority required to govern alone.
The monarchy-aligned party, which is part of the ruling coalition, must now negotiate with other parties to form a government. Under Morocco’s constitution, King Mohammed VI is required to appoint a prime minister from the party with the most seats.
PAM would need 198 seats for an outright majority. Its longstanding rivalry with the Justice and Development Party (PJD) is expected to make cooperation between the two parties difficult.
The PJD, a moderate Islamist party that governed for a decade before its representation collapsed to 13 seats in 2021, staged a marked recovery. It quadrupled its total to 54 seats but has said it will remain in opposition.
PAM is therefore expected to look towards the monarchist Istiqlal party, which finished third, along with other parties, to assemble a governing majority.
The National Rally of Independents (RNI), PAM’s senior coalition partner, suffered a significant setback. Its representation fell from 102 seats to 66.
Low turnout highlights public disengagement
Only 38 per cent of Morocco’s 15.8 million registered voters took part, according to the final results announced by the Ministry of Interior. It was the second-lowest turnout since Mohammed VI became king in 1999, ahead only of the 37 per cent recorded in 2007.
Participation was sharply lower than in 2021, when turnout stood at about 51 per cent. Analysts linked the decline to widespread disengagement after youth-led protests last year focused on jobs, healthcare and education, as well as deadly mass attempts by migrants to reach Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July.
The election result leaves PAM facing coalition talks at a time when Morocco is preparing to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. The next government will oversee billions of dollars in related investment.
Possible candidates for prime minister include PAM member Fouzi Lekjaa, who heads Morocco’s football federation and serves as budget minister, and Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, the party’s mayor of Marrakech and minister for national planning, urban planning, housing and urban policy.
If selected, Mansouri would become Morocco’s first woman prime minister.
