Morocco’s parliamentary election pits 27 parties against youth anger and economic strain

Morocco’s parliamentary election will determine the make-up of the next government, with candidates from 27 parties competing for 395 seats in the House of Representatives.

The vote follows Gen Z protests in September 2025 over unemployment, healthcare and living costs. More than 2,400 people faced prosecution after the unrest.

Unemployment and the Ceuta crossing

About 60,000 people swam from Morocco to Spain’s Ceuta in late July, and at least 100 died. The IMF estimated overall unemployment at 13% last year, while unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds reached 37.3%.

Hamza El Kharroubi, 29, who was briefly arrested during the protests, is running for the little-known Environment and Sustainable Development Party. He is calling for justice and compensation for families of those who died crossing to Ceuta, and wants stronger youth representation by 2031.

Football popularity enters the race

Fouzi Lekjaa, president of Morocco’s Royal Football Federation and a senior finance ministry official, joined the centrist Party of Authenticity and Modernity in July. Videos of his rallies have spread through football slogans invoking “Sir”, or “Go”, from Morocco’s 2022 World Cup run.

Lekjaa has pledged to make Morocco sixth globally in education and healthcare, matching the men’s team’s FIFA ranking. Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents has renewed its promise to create one million job opportunities by 2031.

Political analyst Rachid Aourraz of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis called the jobs pledge an overused electoral slogan. He said major parties were not competing over an alternative model, but over how to implement policies set by the royal vision.

PJD campaigns against Israel ties

The Islamist Justice and Development Party, led by former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, is seeking a political comeback by opposing diplomatic ties with Israel. Morocco normalised relations with Israel in December 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Weekly pro-Palestinian protests took place in Rabat during the Gaza war, while Israel’s liaison office was closed and direct flights were suspended. Earlier this month, however, Morocco and Israel announced an agreement to open full embassies in each country.

King Mohammed VI appoints the prime minister from the party that finishes first, while also chairing the Council of Ministers, the country’s main policy-making body. More than half of Morocco’s roughly 38.8 million people are under 35, but only 4% of more than 15.8 million registered voters are aged 18 to 24.