Today's legislative elections in Morocco ended with 38.02% and 61.98% abstention, the largest in 20 years, according to data from the Moroccan Ministry of Interior.
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24/09/2026
by
Lusa
ANDthis is also the second highest abstention since the ascension to the throne of Muhammad VI.
This is the lowest participation rate since 2007, when only 37% of the electoral census voted, with an abstention of 63%.
The day took place with total normality, except for an incident in Tangier (north), where the police arrested a person for an alleged attempt to manipulate votes at one of the poll tables.
The Moroccan Public Prosecutor indicated that the prisoner was caught in the square of a school in Tangier, where a voting table was located, with a bag containing ballots that, according to images released by the local media, would belong to one of the parties that are part of the current government majority.
In addition, the Public Prosecutor is investigating a video released on social networks where an urn appears that contained numerous ballots that, according to testimonies collected by local media, could have been introduced before the beginning of the vote to favor a party.
After a low profile campaign, the Moroccans voted to elect the 395 members of Parliament.
The day was also marked by a great security device at the borders with the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla (located in North Africa) after calls for further illegal crossings, such as that which occurred on 30 July, when about 70,000 people entered Ceuta, causing the largest migration crisis between Morocco and Spain.
To vote in Morocco it is necessary for the citizen to join the electoral census, which this time had 15.8 million people, in a population of about 38 million.
Young people aged 18 to 24 accounted for only 4% of those.
The estimates, however, amount to around 28 million the number of Moroccans with voting rights.
For experts, this difference proves electoral disinterest.
The high abstention has been a recurring feature in successive elections over the last 25 years in that country.
In 2021, in the last call, abstention reached 49.6%, a number that, although very high, represents the highest participation in 20 years, slightly above 50%.
In the electoral history, the greatest abstention from voters registered since Mohamed VI ascended the throne in 2007, with 63%, followed by 57% of 2016.
The electoral authorities are advancing with the counting of votes, which will probably not be made public until dawn in Morocco.
Seats are distributed according to a system calculated not on the basis of valid votes, but on the number of registered in each constituency, which favors fragmentation and prevents absolute majorities.
After disclosure of the final official results, King Mohamed VI will appoint the new President of the Party Government who has won first place in these elections, who will have to negotiate a coalition with other formations.
The outgoing government, chaired by the tycoon Aziz Ajanouch, is composed of the RNI, PAM and Istiqlal, liberal, conservative and nationalist, respectively.