Final results from Morocco’s Interior Ministry gave the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) 97 of 395 parliamentary seats, below the 198 needed for a majority. King Mohammed VI must appoint a prime minister from PAM; it needs coalition partners to govern.
The Justice and Development Party (PJD) rebounded from 13 seats in 2021 to 54, but says it will remain in opposition; its long rivalry with PAM makes a coalition between them unlikely. PAM is expected to seek a majority with the third-place Istiqlal Party and other parties. Its senior coalition partner, the National Rally of Independents, fell from 102 seats to 66.
Only 38 percent of the 15.8 million registered voters cast ballots, the second-lowest turnout since 1999 and down from about 51 percent in 2021. Analysts attributed low turnout to disengagement following youth-led protests last year over jobs, healthcare and education, and deadly mass attempts by migrants to reach Spain’s Ceuta enclave in July. Potential PAM prime minister candidates include Fouzi Lekjaa and Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri; if selected, Mansouri would be Morocco’s first woman in the post. The incoming government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
