Abstention in Morocco’s legislation is “a serious challenge for democracy”

“ Qwhile less than one in four adults exercise their right to vote in a valid manner, such a low participation cannot be ignored,” said the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (ACE), Italian Elisabetta Gardini, quoted in a statement issued in Strasbourg, the seat of the institution.

This rate, which only reached 38.02% of registered voters, raises “important issues about citizens’ participation, representation and confidence in the political process,” he added.

Wednesday's ballot was dominated by the three parties that make up the outgoing government coalition.

The APCE welcomed the initiatives aimed at encouraging the participation of women and young people, especially the 90 places reserved for women on the regional lists.

“However, these formal possibilities have not yet been translated into sufficient political influence,” according to the statement, which also points to “extremely low” participation of young people.

Abstention, especially among young people, was one of the main issues of these elections, held less than two months after the Ceuta migration crisis.

At the end of July, the massive influx of migrants — mostly Moroccans — to that North African Spanish enclave over a 24-hour period exposed the lack of prospects for a part of Morocco’s youth.

The observers also regretted “a media environment in which economic concentration and widespread restrictions on freedom of expression can stifle a real debate”.

They also expressed concern about the recurring claims of voting and manipulation of voting through economic or hierarchical pressures.

Composed of 24 elements, the APCE multiparty delegation sent 12 teams to Rabat, Casablanca, Tanger, Fez and Marrakesh, as well as to the outskirts of these cities.

The evaluation of the electoral process was carried out in the light of the standards of the Council of Europe – the guardian of human rights on the continent – and of the commitments made by the Moroccan Parliament as the APCE “Partner for Democracy” according to the statement.

The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM, liberal), winner of legislative and close to the Royal Palace, decided not to confine itself to the two parties of the outgoing coalition and to extend to all negotiations for the choice of partners for the new government.

“ We have no party as a red line; we do not believe in red lines. What will be decisive is the program that we previously presented”, said today Fatima Ezzara El-Mansouri, Minister of Housing, member of the management of the WFP and one of the names indicated as possible to head the next Moroccan executive.

“ We are willing to sit with the other parties and negotiate with them”, he added, in the first public statement of the WFP after the election victory.

The reform of the electoral system introduced in 2021 distributes parliamentary mandates based on the number of voters registered in each constituency, and not on the votes actually counted, which favors fragmentation, prevents absolute majorities and requires the formation of coalition governments.

The WFP won 97 seats, plus ten, in an election marked by an overwhelming abstention of 61.9%, the highest in almost 20 years, according to data released by the Ministry of the Interior during the morning, nine hours after closing the polls.

Founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El-Himma — a schoolmate of King Mohammed VI and a royal advisor — and others, the WFP has been the party of Fouzi Lekjaa, holder of the budget portfolio, president of the Moroccan Football Federation, for two months now and the name most appointed to lead the next government, which will focus on the 2030 World Cup, to be organised by Morocco in partnership with Spain and Portugal.

The WFP surpassed its current coalition partners: the RNI (National Group of Independents, Conservative), which now leads the executive the second force, with 66 parliamentary seats, after losing 36, and the Istiqlal (nationalist), which holds third place, with 65 seats in parliament.

The results did not bring any surprises regarding the projections of the analysts, who predicted the advantage of WFP followed by their coalition partners.

However, few predicted the rise of the Justice and Development Party (PJD, moderate Islamist), which won 54 terms after the setback suffered five years ago, when it fell from 125 to 13 places.

This defeat put an end to a decade of electoral dominance of the PJD, which had come to power after the 2011 protests and again imposed itself on the 2016 legislatures.

Precisely his leader, former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkiran, was one of the first to express his position today.

Benkiran celebrated the party's recovery and took the opportunity to clarify that he will not participate in a coalition with the WFP, as he considers this “is under suspicion”.

“His victory is stained by fraud processes in the polls,” he denounced.

For the former governor, the role of the PJD is clear: “I see that we have no future but to continue in our role as opposition, with the necessary strength.”.

“ I have a firm conviction: this government will not succeed,” he added.

After ruling in coalition in the last five years, the two main parties, the WFP and the INR, conducted an election campaign marked by criticism and confrontation.

The RNI, party of the outgoing head of government, the tycoon Aziz Akhannouch, lost 36 parliamentary seats, but maintains a great political weight.

In recent weeks, exchanges of accusations between the leaders of the WFP and the INR have gone up in tone, and the liberals have come to say that they will not join a Conservative-led coalition government again.

But now it is the liberals who hold the majority and draw the “red lines”.

Once the official results are released, King Mohammed VI will appoint the new head of government, who will be a member of the WFP, the winning party of the elections.

The favorite to the post, according to analysts, is the Minister of the Outgoing Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, although the party has a collegial leadership in which they participate, besides Fatima Ezzahra El-Mansouri, the Minister of Youth and Culture, Mehdi Bensaid.