Moroccans went to the polls on Wednesday to choose a new parliament, with rising living costs, unemployment and inequality dominating the campaign as public trust in politicians remains low.
Polling stations opened at 8am (0800 GMT) and were scheduled to close at 7pm, with initial results expected later on Wednesday.
Nearly 16 million registered voters will choose 395 members of Morocco’s House of Representatives.
Turnout, particularly among younger voters, is expected to be a crucial indicator of public engagement. People aged 18 to 24 make up just 4% of those registered to vote.
The king appoints the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats. The new premier then forms a government for a five-year term, although the monarch retains authority over major policy decisions.
Rising prices, unemployment, inequality and distrust of political leaders have shaped the campaign.
The election follows a mass influx of mainly young Moroccan migrants into neighbouring Spanish enclave Ceuta less than two months ago.
The crisis intensified tensions between Morocco and Spain but has not been the campaign’s central issue. Most parties have instead emphasised plans to improve Moroccans’ quality of life.
Pay and social benefits
Opinion polls are prohibited under Morocco’s electoral law, but observers consider the National Rally of Independents (RNI), which currently leads the governing coalition, among the front-runners.
Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch led his party’s campaign despite stepping down as RNI head. If the party wins the most seats, he would be barred from becoming prime minister.
Akhannouch defended his government’s record, citing expanded social security coverage, and pledged further action if the RNI is re-elected.
“We have accomplished significant work in government,” he said at a recent campaign rally.
“We introduced reforms in education and health, raised salaries … and stood with Moroccans when they needed us.”
The businessman nevertheless continues to face repeated allegations of conflicts of interest involving Afriquia, Morocco’s largest fuel distributor.
He has also faced growing demands to resign from a youth-led protest movement seeking improved health care and education services.
The RNI’s principal rival is the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). Both centrist parties are ideologically close and were founded by figures connected to the royal palace.
Higher wages and purchasing power
PAM has recruited Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa, who is widely recognised for his former role as president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
“We want young people to become a driving force capable of creating added value, rather than being left behind,” Lekjaa said in a recent interview, pledging higher wages and stronger purchasing power.
PAM, however, lacks a clearly defined leader. Its other prominent figure is Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, the minister for territorial planning and mayor of Marrakesh, who could become Morocco’s first female prime minister.
The party has also been affected by a corruption scandal. In June, a court sentenced two senior PAM figures to 10 and 12 years in prison, respectively, over a major drug-trafficking case known as the “Escobar of the Sahara.”
Also contesting the election is Istiqlal, a right-wing party led by Infrastructure Minister Nizar Baraka and focused its campaign on social issues.
The Islamist opposition Justice and Development Party has made the fight against corruption central to its campaign.
The conservative party, led by former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, has also opposed moves toward equal inheritance rights and the decriminalisation of consensual sexual relations outside marriage.