The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came out on top in the general legislative elections for the House of Representatives, held on Wednesday, winning 97 seats according to preliminary results, Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit announced late Wednesday night.
The National Rally of Independents (RNI) came in second with 66 seats, followed by the Istiqlal Party (PI, 65 seats), the Justice and Development Party (PJD, 54 seats), the Popular Movement (MP, 29 seats), the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP, 26 seats), the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS, 19 seats), the Constitutional Union (UC, 17 seats), the Democratic and Social Movement (MDS, 8 seats), the Left Alliance (AG, 8 seats), the Front of Democratic Forces (FFD, 2 seats), the Party of Equity (PE, 2 seats), the Party of New Democrats (PND, 1 seat), and the Party of Unity and Democracy (PUD, 1 seat), he specified.
Laftit, who presented the provisional results of these elections in a statement, also indicated that voter turnout reached 38.08% nationwide.
Laftit, who presented the preliminary results of these elections in a statement, also noted that the voter turnout reached 38.08% nationwide, compared to 50.86% in 2021 and 42.27% in 2016, bringing the participation to the September 23 election to nearly 6 million voters.
In this regard, the minister noted the strong turnout, as is customary, of citizens at the polls in Southern provinces, where the turnout rate in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region reached 77%, 53.48% in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, and 61% in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, illustrating these cherished communities’ attachment to their Moroccan identity and their active engagement in the various representative institutions.
According to Laftit, the voting process throughout the country took place under normal and favorable conditions, except for isolated incidents that did not impact the course of the election, thanks to the global mobilization of various authorities and relevant agencies, the dedication of polling station staff, the cooperation of political party representatives and candidates, and the sense of responsibility and civic duty shown by voters.
Emphasizing that this national election marked a new milestone in our country’s democratic and institutional development and provided another opportunity to enshrine the democratic choice and strengthen the role of elected bodies, the minister noted that preparations for this election were carried out as part of a series of legislative and organizational reforms aimed at improving the quality of the electoral process, promote ethical conduct in political life, ensure transparency, credibility, and equal opportunities among various candidates, as well as encourage the participation of women and young people and expand their representation within the legislative body.
In this regard, he stressed, public authorities made sure, from the launch of the various electoral preparation stages, to provide the necessary legal, judicial, and institutional guarantees to hold the elections in a healthy political climate, as well as to strictly enforce the various legal provisions governing the electoral process.
Within this framework, and on the High Royal Instructions addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, to the Minister of the Interior and to the President of the Public Prosecution regarding the proper conduct of the legislative elections for the House of Representatives, the central commission as well as the regional and provincial commissions monitoring the electoral process were activated, in order to take the necessary measures to ensure the respect of electoral operations and to immediately address anything that could undermine them up until the announcement of the election results.
To preserve the democratic process and guarantee the integrity of national elections, the minister pointed out that these commissions proceeded to implement the necessary measures to immediately record violations related to electoral operations as soon as the required data became available, and to initiate investigation procedures or judicial prosecutions where applicable.
In the same vein, the Ministry of the Interior was keen to strengthen cooperation and coordination with the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) by providing it with data and information relating to the conduct of the electoral process, in order to facilitate the work of observers and enable them to carry out their assigned missions under the best conditions, he continued.
Laftit pointed out that the total number of observers who covered the electoral process reached 3,006, including 2,023 from civil society associations and 783 from the CNDH, in addition to 200 foreign observers representing non-governmental organizations and international and regional bodies from Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East, which demonstrates the openness of the Moroccan experience to its international environment and confirms its alignment with the best democratic practices, he noted.
Convinced that proper voter rolls are essential to holding transparent elections, the minister recalled that significant efforts were deployed to update the current lists and strengthen their reliability through revision and updating to align them with the reality of the electorate. Thus, after the administrative commissions finalized the lists, the electorate stood at a total of 15.8 million voters, according to the minister.
To bring polling stations closer to voters, 40,694 polling stations were established, managed by approximately 3,931 central offices, with an average of nearly 11 polling stations per central office, Laftit added.
For their part, political parties mobilized to participate in the vote. Twenty-eight (28) political parties, including an alliance of two parties, submitted a total of 1,847 lists for local and regional parliamentary constituencies, comprising 7,277 candidates in total, representing a national average of more than 18 candidates for each seat, the minister observed.
Regarding female candidacies registered for the election of members to the House of Representatives, Laftit indicated that they reached a total of 2,659, approximately 37% of total candidacies. Among them, 1,783 candidates ran in regional electoral districts and 876 in local districts, including 120 female candidates heading local lists.
This enthusiasm, he noted, reflects the dynamism of the national political scene and the eagerness of various political groups to participate in the election and compete for voters' trust, specifying that it also reflects the opportunities provided by the new legal framework to attract new talent into political and representative work, alongside simplifying the application procedure through the creation of a dedicated digital platform.
In the same spirit, he said, the election campaign period saw remarkable political and communication momentum. He noted that political parties benefited from public audiovisual media coverage under rules ensuring principles of fairness, pluralism, and equal opportunity, enabling them to make their programs and visions known and to engage with citizens.
He also noted that this media dynamic was accompanied by an intense on-the-ground campaign through communication initiatives led by political groups. These reached approximately 21,000 initiatives involving nearly 1.5 million participants, an average of 115,000 participants per day, noting that these unprecedented figures had never been recorded during previous elections.
In this regard, field tours were the most widely used method by candidates, attracting around 730,000 participants, followed by campaign rallies with nearly 407,000 participants, he continued.
These figures demonstrate that political parties made tremendous efforts to present their programs and convince voters through various communication channels, such as distributing leaflets and holding meetings, as well as candidates' use of print, online media, and digital platforms, noted the minister.
Furthermore, Laftit remarked that violations and complaints recorded during this phase were handled in accordance with the law, adding that those raising suspicions of illegal acts were submitted to competent authorities. These isolated cases recorded did not affect the overall smooth conduct of the election campaign or compromise the integrity of the electoral operation as a whole.
The Minister of the Interior congratulated all candidates on the trust placed in them by voters, wishing them full success in fulfilling their representative responsibilities in service of the general interest.
Similarly, he expressed his appreciation to all citizens who fulfilled their national duty and participated in selecting their representatives, as well as to the various political parties and candidates, including those who did not win a seat, for the commitment shown during this democratic milestone and for the programs and proposals they presented, thereby contributing to stimulating public debate and enriching political pluralism.
Laftit praised the serious work accomplished by judicial, territorial, and security authorities, members of polling stations, party representatives, election observers, as well as public and private media, all of whom contributed from their respective positions to ensuring the smooth conduct of this election.
He concluded that while electoral competition ends with the announcement of results, the shared responsibility to serve the nation and its citizens continues and renews itself. If elections produce winners backed by voter trust, Moroccan democracy remains the overall winner of this stage given the dynamism, maturity, and capacity for institutional renewal it demonstrated within a framework of stability, pluralism, and respect for the will of the people.
MAP:24 September 2026
