The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won the largest number of seats in Morocco's legislative election, followed by its partners in the outgoing government, RNI, and the Istiqlal party, according to official preliminary results on Thursday. Liberal-centrist PAM took 97 seats in the 395-seat parliament, ahead of the RNI with 66, while the Istiqlal Party secured 65 seats, the Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said in a news briefing on Thursday. The Justice and Development Party rebounded to 54 seats, from only 13 in the previous election, buoyed by the return of its former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane. Leftist parties such as USFP, PPS and FGD took 26, 19 and 8 seats respectively. Turnout stood at 38.02%, down from 50% in the 2021 election, according to official data. About 27 million Moroccans are of voting age, but only 15.8 million are registered to vote, a drop of about 12% from 2021 election. Turnout is seen as a barometer for citizens' engagement and trust in elected institutions. The parliamentary poll is not expected to fundamentally alter the balance of power in Morocco, where the king retains sweeping powers over policy direction, defense and foreign affairs. Under a constitution adopted in 2011, the king appoints the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats. If King Mohammed VI appoints PAM’s current leader, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, as head of government, she would become the second woman to hold such a position in the Arab region, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden. PAM will have to negotiate a coalition even as its leaders have ruled out partnering again with RNI as the two parties trade accusations over failed policies. PAM campaigned on a $37 billion platform promising 1 million new jobs and continued investment in healthcare, social protection and better wages.
