Morocco’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged as the largest party in the country’s September 23 parliamentary election, according to provisional results announced the following day by Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit. With 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, PAM is short of a majority and will have to build a coalition before it can lead the next government.
The result reshapes the top of Moroccan politics. PAM overtook the National Rally of Independents (RNI), its senior partner in the outgoing coalition, which finished second with 66 seats. The nationalist Istiqlal Party was close behind with 65.
The provisional seat count
- Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM): 97 seats
- National Rally of Independents (RNI): 66 seats
- Istiqlal Party: 65 seats
- Justice and Development Party (PJD): 54 seats, up from 13 in 2021
The comeback of the PJD is one of the night’s clearest stories. The centrist Islamist party, which led governments for a decade before collapsing in 2021, roughly quadrupled its seat total and is once again a significant force in parliament.
A sharp drop in turnout
Participation fell to 38.02 percent, down from about 50 percent in 2021. The decline matters because this was the first national vote since the Gen Z-led protests of 2025, when young Moroccans took to the streets over jobs, public services and the cost of living. A lower turnout suggests that many of those voters remain unconvinced that elections will deliver the changes they demanded.
How the next government will be formed
Under Morocco’s 2011 constitution, the king appoints the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats. That puts PAM in pole position, but it must still assemble a working majority. Two points stand out from early reporting:
- PAM has ruled out another partnership with the RNI. The two parties have traded blame over policies that failed to deliver during the last term.
- Names circulating as possible prime ministers include PAM’s Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri and Fouzi Lekjaa, the budget minister and head of the national football federation, who joined PAM only weeks before the vote.
Without the RNI, PAM’s most obvious route to a majority runs through Istiqlal and, potentially, smaller parties. A deal with the resurgent PJD would be a striking realignment but has not been signalled publicly. By tradition, the palace keeps direct control over defence and foreign affairs regardless of who forms the cabinet.
Promises on jobs and a World Cup to deliver
PAM campaigned on a platform it costed at about $37 billion, pledging one million new jobs, better wages and continued investment in healthcare and social protection. Delivering on that will be the central test for the new government, especially with fuel and food costs elevated across the region.
The next cabinet will also oversee billions of dollars of spending as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Stadiums, transport links and hotels are already under construction, and the choice of Lekjaa as a possible prime minister would tie the premiership directly to that project.
What to watch
Coalition talks are expected to dominate the coming weeks. The key questions are which parties PAM brings into government, whether the PJD stays in opposition and how quickly the new cabinet can show progress on employment. Follow our Politics coverage for updates.