2026 Moroccan general election

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.^[7][8]

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.^[9][10][11]

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.^{[12][13][14][15]}

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.^[16][17]

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.^[18][19][20]

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.^[21][22]

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.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[23] 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.^[25] 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.^[26]

Opinion polls show general public distrust in the Moroccan government in 2026.^[39][40]

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.^[41]

• 2021 Moroccan general election
• Elections in Morocco