Morocco’s parliamentary election campaign began on September 10, with 27 political parties competing for 395 seats in the House of Representatives.
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parties → begin → Representatives
More than 15.8 million voters are registered for the September 23 vote, which will determine Parliament’s composition and play a central role in forming the next government.
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which → register → government
But beyond the competition between parties, the election raises a deeper question: whether citizens believe the political system can respond to the problems shaping their daily lives.
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system → raise → lives
An Afrobarometer survey published in March found that roughly a third of Moroccans aged 18 to 35 expressed trust in Parliament, the head of government and political parties.
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third → publish → government
At the same time, young people were more likely than older Moroccans to post political content on social media and participate in demonstrations.
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people → post → demonstrations
That does not necessarily mean young Moroccans are disengaged.
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Moroccans → mean → ?
The more important issue is whether they see electoral politics as an effective way of addressing the problems they face.
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they → see → problems
An election within a distinctive system
Morocco’s electoral politics operate within the constitutional framework established in 2011.
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politics → operate → 2011
The constitution defines Morocco as a constitutional, democratic, parliamentary and social monarchy and establishes a separation and balance of powers while preserving the monarchy’s central institutional role.
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constitution → define → role
Under Article 47, the king appoints the head of government from the political party that comes first in elections to the House of Representatives.
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that → appoint → Representatives
The king also presides over the Council of Ministers, while the government exercises executive power and Parliament exercises legislative and oversight functions.
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Parliament → preside → functions
Winning the largest number of seats, therefore, matters for forming the government, but the parliamentary result does not by itself determine the full distribution of political power.
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result → win → power
A younger electorate, an older political system
The age profile of the electorate makes the question of political engagement more consequential.
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question → make → engagement
Official figures show that voters aged 18 to 24 account for 4 percent of those registered, while people aged 60 and above account for 29 percent.
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people → show → percent
But those figures describe the electoral roll, not turnout, but they show how heavily the registered electorate is weighted towards older citizens.
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electorate → describe → citizens
Morocco also faces a substantial youth employment problem.
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Morocco → face → problem
The IMF estimates that unemployment stood at 13 percent in 2025, while unemployment among 15-to-24-year-olds reached 37.3 percent.
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unemployment → estimate → percent
It estimates that 25.2 percent of young people were not in employment, education or training in the third quarter of 2025.
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percent → estimate → 2025
The IMF also points to skills mismatches, limited private-sector dynamism and pronounced gender disparities in labour-market participation.
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IMF → point → participation
For young people struggling to enter the labour market, promises about growth, jobs and purchasing power are not abstract campaign issues.
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promises → struggle → growth
They are measures of whether the political system can deliver opportunities visible in everyday life.
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system → deliver → life
When economic frustration becomes political
Those pressures have also surfaced outside formal electoral politics.
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pressures → become → politics
In late July, roughly 60,000 people entered the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta from Morocco in the largest such surge in recent history, according to the news agency Reuters.
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people → enter → agency
The report linked the crossings to economic hardship, social unrest and misinformation circulating on social media, alongside migration aspirations and false expectations about Spanish court rulings.
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report → link → rulings
While this episode may not have been a direct measure of electoral opinion or evidence of a single political cause, it illustrated how economic expectations, migration aspirations and perceptions of opportunity can intersect.
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expectations → illustrate → opportunity
That provides a wider context for the election’s economic debate: whether Morocco’s recent growth and major development projects are producing opportunities that younger citizens can see in their own lives.
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citizens → provide → lives
The economy has been growing strongly.
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economy → grow → ?
The IMF estimates that real GDP grew by 4.9 percent in 2025 and projects growth of 4.4 percent in 2026.
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GDP → estimate → 2026
Yet high unemployment, particularly among young people, has remained a significant challenge.
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unemployment → remain → people
Strong growth has not translated into sufficient job creation.
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growth → translate → creation
What the parties are promising
Employment and purchasing power feature prominently in the programmes of the three parties that have formed the governing coalition since 2021: the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) and Istiqlal.
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that → promise → Independents
The RNI’s 2026–2031 programme promises one million jobs and a gradual increase in the minimum wage to 5,000 dirhams (about $530) per month.
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programme → promise → month
PAM has pledged at least one million jobs and put the cost of its five-year programme at 350 billion dirhams ($37.1bn).
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PAM → pledge → dirhams
Istiqlal has placed purchasing power and public services at the centre of its campaign, alongside proposals on healthcare, housing, employment, water management and food security.
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Istiqlal → place → healthcare
The programmes differ in emphasis, but their common focus is revealing: Employment, household purchasing power and public services have become central measures of political credibility.
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Employment → differ → credibility
The challenge for the next government will be turning investment and growth into more productive jobs and higher living standards.
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challenge → turn → jobs
The PJD tries to recover
The Justice and Development Party (PJD), led by former head of government Abdelilah Benkirane, enters the election seeking to rebuild support after its dramatic losses in 2021.
The party fell from 125 seats in the previous parliament to 13.
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party → try → 13
In the September 2021 election, the RNI won 102 seats, followed by PAM with 87 and Istiqlal with 81.
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RNI → win → 81
The three parties subsequently formed the governing coalition.
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parties → form → coalition
The PJD has presented a programme built around five axes and 467 measures covering institutional, economic, social and foreign policy.
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PJD → present → policy
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
