2026 Moroccan general election

2026 Moroccan general election

23 September 2026

All 395 seats in the House of Representatives 198 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats RNI Mohamed Chaouki 102 PAM Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri 87 Istiqlal Nizar Baraka 81 USFP Driss Lachgar 34 MP Mohamed Ouzzine 28 PPS Nabil Benabdallah 22 UC Mohamed Joudar 18 PJD Abdelilah Benkirane 13 MDS Abdessamad Archane 5 FFD Mustapha Benali 3 Yassar Collective leadership 2 Results by region, including Moroccan occupied Western Sahara (not recognised as part of Morocco under international law) Incumbent Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch RNI

General elections are scheduled to be held in Morocco on 23 September 2026 to elect all 395 members of the House of Representatives. The election will be the 12th legislative election held in Morocco since independence in 1956. Voting will take place by direct universal suffrage using a party-list proportional representation system.

Under the 2011 Constitution, the King appoints the Head of Government from the political party that comes first in the election to the House of Representatives, after which the appointed head of government forms the government. Preparations for the 2026 election have been overseen by Abdelouafi Laftit, the Minister of the Interior, following an instruction by King Mohammed VI in his Throne Day speech in July 2025. The King instructed Laftit to ensure the proper preparation of the election and to begin political consultations with the parties and other stakeholders, marking a departure from the practice followed in the 2016 and 2021 legislative elections, when the Head of Government chaired preparatory meetings for the electoral process.

The campaign began on 10 September and is scheduled to end at midnight on 22 September, the day before polling. Twenty-eight political parties, including a coalition formed specifically for the election, together with two lists of independent candidates, are contesting the 395 seats. The final electoral rolls contain 15,801,162 registered voters, of whom 54% are men and 46% are women.

Candidates are standing on 1,850 lists comprising 7,288 candidacies across the electoral districts, with an average of more than 18 candidates per seat. Of these, 1,615 lists were submitted for local electoral districts, while 235 regional lists reserved for women contained 1,783 candidacies. In total, 2,658 women and 227 incumbent members of the House of Representatives are standing as candidates.

The vote will determine the composition of the House of Representatives for the next legislative term and initiate the process of forming a new government following the election.

Background

Following the 2021 general election, King Mohammed VI appointed Aziz Akhannouch, president of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), as Head of Government and tasked him with forming a government. The RNI had won 102 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, followed by the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) with 87 seats and the Istiqlal Party with 81. The three parties subsequently agreed to form a coalition government, which took office on 7 October 2021. The coalition brought together the three largest parties in the newly elected House and replaced the Justice and Development Party (PJD), which had governed Morocco since 2011 and suffered a major loss of representation in the 2021 election.

The electoral framework was revised in the period preceding the election. Amendments to the organic law governing the House of Representatives, together with changes concerning political parties, electoral rolls and electoral campaigning, were introduced during 2025. The amendments to the law governing the House of Representatives were approved by Parliament, reviewed by the Constitutional Court and promulgated in January 2026 as Organic Law No. 53.25. Among other provisions, the revised law introduced new rules concerning parliamentary candidacies, measures intended to strengthen the integrity of electoral operations, provisions encouraging the participation of younger candidates, and regional electoral lists reserved for women. The revised framework also included provisions concerning the dissemination of false information and other conduct capable of affecting the integrity of the electoral process.

Although the RNI, PAM and Istiqlal remained in government, relations between the coalition parties became increasingly competitive as the 2026 election approached. In April 2026, members of the governing parties began seeking to recruit lawmakers and elected officials from their coalition partners, breaking an informal understanding that had discouraged such defections since the coalition was formed. The competition became particularly pronounced between the RNI and PAM. In July, Fouzi Lekjaa, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget and president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, formally joined the PAM and entered its Political Bureau. In August, the RNI accused the PAM of attempting to recruit several of its parliamentarians and elected officials ahead of the election, while the PAM rejected the allegations and defended political affiliation as an individual choice.

The political context was also affected by youth-led protests in September and October 2025. Demonstrations organised largely through social media expressed dissatisfaction with public health and education services, employment opportunities, corruption and government spending priorities, including expenditure associated with major sporting infrastructure. The protests spread to several Moroccan cities and were followed by arrests and security interventions. The issues raised during the protests remained part of the political context ahead of the 2026 election, with political parties subsequently seeking to attract younger voters with proposals concerning employment, housing and public services. Reuters reported in September 2026 that many young Moroccans continued to express distrust towards political institutions and established parties.

The final weeks before polling were marked by several controversies that prompted judicial investigations. On 14 September, the Public Prosecutor at the Casablanca Court of Appeal ordered an investigation by the National Judicial Police Brigade into allegations made by Popular Movement secretary-general Mohamed Ouzzine concerning alleged attempts to spy on or hack the phones of members of his party. The investigation was intended to verify the allegations and determine any possible legal consequences. On 19 September, the Public Prosecutor at the Settat Court of Appeal ordered a separate investigation into a leaked audio recording circulated on social media, with investigators tasked with establishing the circumstances of its recording, leakage and circulation, verifying its authenticity, and determining whether it contained conduct punishable under Moroccan law. Earlier in September, the Presidency of the Public Prosecution had instructed prosecutors throughout Morocco to safeguard the integrity and transparency of the electoral process and to investigate election-related complaints promptly.

Electoral system

The Parliament building in Rabat

Morocco has a bicameral legislature whose two chambers are the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has 395 seats, which are elected by proportional representation and consist of two tiers: 305 seats are elected from 92 multi-member local constituencies (of two to six seats) and the remaining 90 are elected from twelve constituencies based on the regions (of 3 to 12 seats). Of these 90 seats, a minimum of one third must be women, who must also be the first and second candidates on each list.

The election will be held under a new 2021 law which saw the removal of the electoral threshold, which was previously at 6% for local lists and at 3% for the national lists which were replaced by the regional ones. The new law calculates the allocations of seats based on the number of registered voters, rather than the number of those who actually cast a ballot. This means the party that received the largest number of votes in the district will not be able to obtain more than one electoral seat. All citizens who were at least 18 years old, or have reached the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

Although Moroccans living abroad are constitutionally eligible to vote, there is no practical mechanism by which they can do so, other than travelling to Morocco in person, or granting power of attorney to a relative or acquaintance to vote on their behalf. In 2021, the Istiqlal Party proposed an amendment to allow members of the Moroccan diaspora to vote from their residence countries, but it was rejected by a parliamentary majority. According to Moroccan analyst Rachid Achachi, the absence of overseas voting access stems primarily from "fear of the unknown", as Moroccans living abroad are "difficult to predict" and are less susceptible to traditional methods of influence employed by political parties, including demagogic rhetoric, patronage networks and vote buying.

Parties

Party or alliance			Leader	Ideology	2021 result	Status
	RNI	National Rally of Independents التجمع الوطني للأحرار ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵡ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵢ ⵉⵏⵙⵉⵎⴰⵏⵏ	Mohamed Chaouki	Liberal conservatism Monarchism	102 / 395	Government
	PAM	Authenticity and Modernity Party حزب الأصالة والمعاصرة ⴰⵎⵓⵍⵍⵉ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵥⵖⵓⵕⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵎⵜⵔⴰⵔⵜ	Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri	Social liberalism Monarchism	87 / 395
	PI	Istiqlal Party حزب الإستقلال ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ	Nizar Baraka	Moroccan nationalism Conservatism	81 / 395
	USFP	Socialist Union of Popular Forces الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰⵏⵏ	Driss Lachgar	Social democracy	37 / 395	Opposition
	MP	Popular Movement الحركة الشعبية ⴰⵎⵓⵙⵙⵓ ⴰⵎⴷⵏⴰⵏ	Mohamed Ouzzine	Conservative liberalism Agrarianism	28 / 395
	PPS	Party of Progress and Socialism حزب التقدم والاشتراكية ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵓⴼⴰⵔⴰ ⴷ ⵜⵏⵎⵍⴰ	Nabil Benabdallah	Democratic socialism Progressivism	22 / 395
	UC	Constitutional Union الاتحاد الدستوري ⴰⵍⵉⵜⵜⵉⴰⴷ ⴰⴷⴷⵓⵔⵜⵓⵔⵉ	Mohamed Joudar	Conservative liberalism Monarchism	18 / 395	Support
	PJD	Justice and Development Party حزب العدالة والتنمية ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵏⵣⵣⴰⵔⴼⵓⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵏⴼⵍⵉⵜ	Abdelilah Benkirane	Islamic democracy Conservatism	13 / 395	Opposition
	AG	Left Alliance تحالف اليسار ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⵣⵍⵎⴰⴹⵜ	Abdessalam Laâziz (FGD) Jamal El Asri (PSU)	Democratic socialism Progressivism	2 / 395
	MDS	Democratic and Social Movement الحركة الديمقراطية والاجتماعية ⴰⵎⵓⵍⵍⵉ ⵏ ⵓⵎⵓⵙⵙⵓ ⴰⴷⵉⵎⵇⵔⴰⵟⵉ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵓⵏ	Abdessamad Archane	Moroccan nationalism Monarchism	5 / 395	Support
	FFD	Front of Democratic Forces جبهة القوى الديمقراطية ⵊⴰⴱⵀⴰⵜ ⴰⵍⴽⵉⵡⴰ ⴰⴷⴷⵉⵎⵓⵇⵔⴰⵜⵉⵢⴰ	Mustapha Benali	Socialism	3 / 395	Opposition

Campaign

Party or alliance		Original slogan	English translation	Ref.
	National Rally of Independents	كرامة وفرص للجميع	"Dignity and opportunities for all"
	Authenticity and Modernity Party	من أجل تغيير المسار. كلمة وحدة!	"To change course. One word!"
	Istiqlal Party	وطني.. مستقبلي	"My country, my future"
	Socialist Union of Popular Forces	من أجل التنمية العادلة والعيش الكريم	"For fair development and a decent life"
	Popular Movement	جا الوقت	"It's time"
	Party of Progress and Socialism	نزعمو كاملين	"Let's dare together"
	Constitutional Union	من أجل مغرب بسرعة واحدة	"For a single-speed Morocco"
	Justice and Development Party	من أجل تحقيق كرامة المواطن	"To uphold citizens' dignity"
	Left Alliance	الكرامة أولًا	"Dignity first"
	Democratic and Social Movement	معًا من أجل مغربٍ أفضل	"Together for a better Morocco"
	Front of Democratic Forces	الكرامة الآن.. ودائمًا	"Dignity now and always"

Opinion polls

Opinion polls show general public distrust in the Moroccan government in 2026.

Publishing or broadcasting election-related opinion polls is banned up to 15 days before an election as per Law No. 57–11 of 28 October 2011.

Voting intention estimates

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout	RNI	PAM	PI	USFP	MP	UC	PPS	PJD	MDS	Others	Lead
Afrobarometer	11 – 29 February 2024	1,200	37.7	15.3	18.5	19.4	6.5	5.2	5.6	7.7	18.5	3.2	–	0.9
Afrobarometer	September 2022	1,200	44.1	12.3	18.3	28.6	6.6	6.6	6.3	4.3	15.6	1.4	0.7	10.5
2021 election	8 Sep 2021	–	50.3	27.7	18.5	16.9	7.9	7.1	5.6	5.0	4.3	1.7	–	9.2

Results

Party		Regional lists		Local lists
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	National Rally of Independents
	Authenticity and Modernity Party
	Istiqlal Party
	Socialist Union of Popular Forces
	Popular Movement
	Constitutional Union
	Party of Progress and Socialism
	Justice and Development Party
	Left Alliance
	Democratic and Social Movement
	Front of Democratic Forces
	New Democrats Party
	Environment and Sustainable Development Party
	Social Centre Party
	Hope Party
	Equity Party
	Moroccan Liberal Party
	Unity and Democracy Party
	Moroccan Greens Party
	Democratic Independence Party
	Party of Liberty and Social Justice
	Action Party
	Reform and Development Party
	Renaissance Party
	Democratic Society Party
	National Democratic Party
	Moroccan Union for Democracy
	Independent lists
Total
Registered voters/turnout		15,801,162	–	15,801,162	–
Source: Ministry of Interior

See also

• 2021 Moroccan general election
• Elections in Morocco

External links

• Official Election Portal
• Official Electoral Rolls Portal