In late September, Moroccan voters handed the monarchy-aligned PAM party its largest parliamentary share in years, yet the 97 seats it claimed out of 395 left it well short of the majority needed to govern alone. The result captures a familiar tension in modern democracies: a mandate that is real but incomplete, requiring the slow, unglamorous work of coalition-building to become actual power. Meanwhile, only 38 percent of registered voters participated — a near-record silence that speaks as loudly as any ballot cast, reminding those who will govern that legitimacy is not only won at the negot
Morocco's PAM wins most seats but needs coalition as turnout hits 20-year low
The election results reflected a country where many citizens had simply stopped believing that voting would change their circumstances.
Mark
So PAM won the most seats but can't govern alone. How does that actually work in Morocco?
Mimi
The king appoints the prime minister from the party with the most seats, but that party has to have enough votes in parliament to pass legislation. PAM has 97 out of 395 seats, so they need at least 198 to control the chamber. They're about 100 seats short.
Luke
And the constitution requires the king to pick from the winning party? That's a hard constraint?
Mimi
Yes. So PAM has to negotiate with other parties to join a coalition government. They're likely looking at Istiqlal and some smaller parties.
Mark
Why not the PJD? They came back strong with 54 seats.
Mimi
The two parties have a long rivalry. The PJD said publicly they're staying in opposition.
Luke
So that's a choice, not a structural barrier. They could theoretically join PAM if they wanted to.
Mimi
Right. But the history between them makes it unlikely.
Mark
What about the turnout? Thirty-eight percent seems low.
Mimi
It's the second-lowest since the king took power in 1999. People are frustrated about jobs, healthcare, education. There were youth protests last year, and in July there were deadly incidents with migrants trying to reach Spain.
Luke
So the low turnout is a symptom of deeper discontent, not just apathy.
Mimi
Exactly. And whoever forms this government has to deal with that while preparing for the 2030 World Cup.
The Pulse
- PAM won the most seats but secured less than a quarter of parliament, leaving the country in a governing limbo that demands urgent coalition negotiations.
- The PJD's dramatic comeback — quadrupling its seats to 54 — reshuffled the political landscape, yet the party declared it would sit in opposition, narrowing PAM's path to a majority.
- PAM's existing coalition partner, the RNI, shed 36 seats, weakening the bloc PAM had relied upon and forcing it to court Istiqlal and smaller parties from a position of reduced leverage.
- A near-record-low turnout of 38 percent signals deep public disillusionment rooted in youth unemployment, inadequate healthcare, and failing schools — grievances that the incoming government cannot afford to ignore.
- The stakes are amplified by Morocco's role as a 2030 World Cup co-host, meaning whoever assembles a government will immediately inherit oversight of billions in infrastructure investment under global scrutiny.
- Two names — football federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa and Marrakech mayor Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri — are circulating for prime minister, with Mansouri potentially making history as Morocco's first woman to hold the office.
In late September, Moroccan voters handed the monarchy-aligned PAM party its largest parliamentary share in years, yet the 97 seats it claimed out of 395 left it well short of the majority needed to govern alone. The result captures a familiar tension in modern democracies: a mandate that is real but incomplete, requiring the slow, unglamorous work of coalition-building to become actual power. Meanwhile, only 38 percent of registered voters participated — a near-record silence that speaks as loudly as any ballot cast, reminding those who will govern that legitimacy is not only won at the negotiating table but must also be earned in the lives of ordinary citizens.
When Morocco's Ministry of Interior released the final tallies from the late-September parliamentary elections, the picture was clear but unfinished. The Authenticity and Modernity Party — PAM — had won more seats than any rival, claiming 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. Under the constitution, King Mohammed VI would appoint a prime minister from the leading party, but 97 seats fell far short of the 198 needed to govern outright. Coalition negotiations would have to do the rest.
PAM's path to a majority was complicated on multiple fronts. Its existing partner, the National Rally of Independents, dropped from 102 seats to 66, a significant erosion of the bloc PAM had counted on. The Justice and Development Party, the moderate Islamist group that had governed for a decade before its near-collapse in 2021, staged a striking recovery — quadrupling its seats to 54 — but promptly announced it would sit in opposition rather than partner with PAM. That left PAM looking toward the Istiqlal party and smaller allies to stitch together a working majority.
Beyond the arithmetic of coalition-building, the election carried a quieter but more unsettling message: only 38 percent of Morocco's 15.8 million registered voters cast ballots, the second-lowest turnout since King Mohammed VI came to power in 1999. The drop from 51 percent in 2021 was sharp and hard to dismiss. Analysts traced it to accumulated frustration — youth-led protests over jobs, healthcare, and education, compounded by a summer marked by deadly migrant crises at the border enclave of Ceuta. Many Moroccans had simply stopped expecting that voting would change their lives.
Whoever emerges as prime minister — whether PAM's football federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa or Marrakech mayor Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, who would be the country's first female prime minister — will inherit both the domestic weight of those grievances and the global pressure of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. Billions in infrastructure investment await a government that must first prove it can hold itself together.
Morocco held parliamentary elections on a Friday in late September, and when the Ministry of Interior released the final tallies, the result was clear but incomplete: the Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, had won more seats than any other party, but not enough to govern alone. The monarchy-aligned PAM took 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. Under Morocco's constitution, King Mohammed VI would appoint a prime minister from whichever party won the most seats—but 97 seats fell far short of the 198 needed for an outright majority. PAM would have to negotiate with other parties to form a government.
PAM, founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a close associate of the king, has long served as a counterweight to the Justice and Development Party, a moderate Islamist group that governed for a decade before its parliamentary presence collapsed to just 13 seats in 2021. This time, the PJD staged a dramatic recovery, quadrupling its representation to 54 seats. But the two parties have a long history of rivalry, and the PJD announced it would sit in opposition rather than join a coalition with PAM. That left PAM to build its majority elsewhere—most likely with the Istiqlal party, which finished third, and other smaller parties willing to negotiate.
PAM's existing coalition partner, the National Rally of Independents, had weakened considerably. The RNI dropped from 102 seats to 66, a significant loss that made coalition-building even more necessary for PAM's governing ambitions. The party would need to stitch together support from multiple quarters to reach the threshold for control.
The election itself was shadowed by a striking absence of voters. Only 38 percent of Morocco's 15.8 million registered voters bothered to cast ballots—the second-lowest turnout since King Mohammed VI took the throne in 1999, surpassed only by a record-low 37 percent turnout in 2007. The 2021 election had drawn roughly 51 percent of voters, so the drop was sharp and unmistakable. Analysts pointed to widespread disengagement rooted in concrete grievances: youth-led protests the previous year had centered on jobs, healthcare, and education. In July, deadly mass attempts by migrants to reach Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta had further shaken public confidence. The election results reflected a country where many citizens had simply stopped believing that voting would change their circumstances.
Two names circulated as potential prime ministers. Fouzi Lekjaa, a PAM member who heads Morocco's football federation and serves as budget minister, was one possibility. The other was Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, also from PAM, who currently serves as mayor of Marrakech and as minister of national planning, urban planning, housing and urban policy. If chosen, Mansouri would become Morocco's first woman to hold the office of prime minister.
Whoever took the post would inherit a government facing an enormous undertaking. Morocco is preparing to cohost the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, a responsibility that will require overseeing billions of dollars in investment and infrastructure development. The incoming government would need to manage that global spotlight while addressing the domestic frustrations that had kept voters home on election day.
Notable Quotes
The PJD announced it would sit in opposition rather than join a coalition with PAM— The Justice and Development Party
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