House of Representatives (Morocco)

The Justice and Development Party (PJD) remained the largest party, winning 125 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, a gain of 18 seats compared to the 2011 elections.^[7][8] The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 102 seats, and the rest of the seats were split among smaller parties.

Aziz Akhannouch's National Rally of Independents won the most seats (102), up 65 from the previous election.^[9] With 87 members, the liberal Authenticity and Modernity Party lost 15 seats to finish in second place. With 81 seats overall, the center-right Istiqlal Party moved up to third place after gaining 35 seats.^[10] The ruling Justice and Development Party lost 112 seats overall as a result of the election, winning just 13 seats.^[11][12]

On 24 January 2023, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would set a level of "adequate knowledge" of Tamazight^{[disambiguation needed]} as a condition for obtaining Moroccan citizenship.^[13][14]

The House of Representatives is composed of 395 deputies elected for five-year terms by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Of this total, 305 seats are filled in 92 constituencies with between 2 and 6 seats depending on their population, in addition to 90 seats to be filled in 12 constituencies of 3 to 12 seats corresponding to the regions. The candidate lists for these 90 regional seats must be composed of at least one-third women, who must occupy the first and second positions on the list.

For all constituencies, candidate lists are closed, with no panachage or preferential voting. After the votes are counted, seats are allocated solely on the basis of the electoral quotient, calculated from the total number of voters registered on the electoral rolls rather than from the number of votes cast, as was the case before 2021^[15][16][17]

The number of seats per constituency varies between 2 and 6 according to the constituency's population. While large cities such as Casablanca, Fes, Rabat and Marrakesh are divided into several constituencies, in other cities the administrative boundaries coincide with the electoral boundaries.

Following a change to the electoral law passed in 2021 and implemented for the first time during the legislative elections held that same year, the 90 seats are no longer filled in a single national constituency, of which 60 are reserved for women and 30 for candidates under the age of forty^[18]. Seats were previously allocated according to the largest averages method to all lists that had passed the electoral threshold. The latter was 6% in ordinary constituencies and 3% for the national list, based on the votes cast^[15][18][19]

History

The number of seats comprising the House of Representatives has evolved according to the legislative elections held in Morocco since its independence, obtained in November 1955 and taking effect in 1956; it increased from 144 seats in 1963 to 395 in the 2011 elections.

More information Legislative elections, Number of seats ...

Evolution in the number of seats since the 1963 elections

Legislative elections	Number of seats	+/-
1963	144	—
1970	240	96
1977	264	24
1984	306	42
1993	333	27
1997	325	8
2002	325
2007	325
2011	395	70
2016	395
2021	395

Close

The role of the House of Representatives is to grant or withdraw confidence in the government, propose and vote on laws, oversee the government, and approve the budget of the state.

In order to oversee the actions of the government, it may question members of the government through oral questions, submit written questions to members of the government, bring down the government through a motion of censure, and conduct parliamentary commissions of inquiry into any matter it considers to be of general interest, as well as summon civil servants and officials of public or private companies to question them.

The elected members are divided among several permanent committees and specialize during their terms in a particular field (Finance Committee, Energy Committee, Interior and Local Authorities Committee, Education Committee, etc.). The specialized committees assess the policies of the Moroccan state by hearing experts and senior civil servants, receiving ministers, and conducting field visits.

The committees also examine bills and legislative proposals. Bills are always examined by a committee before subsequently being presented in a plenary session. They are then voted on by the House of Councillors. In the event of disagreement with the latter, the House of Representatives has the final say.

• House of Councillors
• List of presidents of the House of Representatives of Morocco