Morocco’s ruling coalition tops vote; candidate who called Jewish leader ‘cancer’ elected

Morocco’s ruling coalition dominated parliamentary elections, provisional results on Thursday showed, in a poll marked by low turnout and an improved showing for the Islamist opposition.

Turnout, especially among young Moroccans, proved a challenge for the parties in contention, weeks after tens of thousands of mainly young Moroccan migrants rushed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

The crisis highlighted socioeconomic frustrations among the youth, even as the kingdom records economic growth and is ramping up major infrastructure projects as it prepares to co-host the 2030 soccer World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.

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The election, which saw a turnout of 38 percent out of 16 million registered voters, also came a year after a Gen Z protest movement took to the streets in Morocco to demand better health and education.

Wednesday’s turnout was the lowest since 2007, when the figure was 36.8%.

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The center-right Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 out of 395 seats in the House of Representatives, with the National Rally of Independents (RNI) — which heads the outgoing coalition — coming in second with 66 seats.

Without an outright majority, the PAM will have to form a new coalition with other parties, and the next head of government — appointed by the king — will come from its ranks.

One prominent figure tipped to become the kingdom’s next premier is PAM’s Fouzi Lekjaa, the current budget minister better known as chief of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, which has racked up sporting feats in recent years.

Another party figure, current Territorial Planning Minister and mayor of Marrakesh Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, could also be in line to become Morocco’s first female prime minister.

The party has pledged average annual economic growth of 5%, inflation of 2% and at least 1 million new jobs over its five-year term.

The PAM was founded in 2008 by current royal adviser Fouad Ali El Himma as a counterweight to the Islamist movement.

The PAM and RNI were followed by the right-wing Istiqlal party with 65 seats, while the Islamist opposition’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 54 seats.

The PJD made a significant comeback from winning 13 seats in 2021, after its campaign focused in part on fighting corruption.

Its chief, former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, said overnight that early results showed the party leading in most constituencies where counting had been completed.

He later alleged irregularities at some polling stations, but authorities have not yet responded to his claims.

Among those elected for PJD was Aziz Henawi, an activist who made headlines in Israel in July when, protesting a then-upcoming visit by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, he stood on an Israeli flag while accusing Jackie Kadosh, a leader of Morocco’s Jewish community, of being an Israeli agent.

According to Ynet, a lawyer from Rabat filed a criminal complaint against Henawi, who leads several anti-Israel groups, for his comments about Kadosh, whom he also called a “cancer on Morocco.” Further details about the case were not immediately available.

The PJD campaigned on fighting corruption and criticized the outgoing government’s record, focusing on purchasing power, youth unemployment and public services such as healthcare.

Those issues helped fuel the Ceuta migration crisis and the Gen Z-led mass protests, which had appealed directly to King Mohammed VI and called for incumbent Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch — who heads the RNI — to resign.

During protests last year, young demonstrators repeatedly chanted: “We want hospitals, not just stadiums,” in reference to the kingdom’s sporting investments.

Morocco, which also hosted soccer’s last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, has embarked on major projects, including stadiums, a high-speed rail network and renovating several airports.

But social and regional disparities remain significant, with young people particularly affected by unemployment.

In an address following the Gen Z protests, the king himself had denounced what he described as development taking place at “two speeds.”

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