Moroccans vote for new parliament with eye on social concerns

Moroccans began voting for a new parliament on Wednesday with unemployment and inequality front of mind, even as some expressed a lack of trust in the parties in contention. Nearly 16 million Moroccans have registered to elect 395 members of the House of Representatives. But turnout will be a key test given the widespread voter disillusionment, especially among young people. Though only four percent of registered voters are aged 18 to 24, youth-focused issues have found a spotlight, especially after the recent mass rush of young Moroccans into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, as well as last year's Gen Z protest movement demanding better health and education. Rising unemployment, higher prices and inequality were also at the heart of much campaign messaging, as were efforts to drum up voter engagement. As of noon, the national turnout rate stood at 11.3 percent, according to official figures, with polls due to close at 7:00 pm. On the campaign trail, parties focused on promises to improve quality of life in Morocco. But many, even among the older generation, say they wouldn't vote. "I'm not going to vote because I have lost all faith in the political class," Majda Bakatir told AFP in Rabat. "We want our country to move forward, but politicians do not seem to care about our problems regarding healthcare, education, and purchasing power," added the 59-year-old woman. Others, like 55-year-old Karim Ennaciri, did vote in the hopes that the election would bring about change. "This will allow us to see if there's a renewal within the parties," he said. Polls opened at 8:00 am, and preliminary results are expected to be announced overnight. Morocco's prime minister is appointed by the king from the party that wins the most seats. The premier then forms a government for a five-year term, but the monarch retains control of major policy decisions. - RNI vs. PAM - Opinion polls are banned under Morocco's electoral law, but observers put the National Rally of Independents (RNI) -- currently heading the governing coalition -- among the favourites. Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch led his party's campaign, although he has stepped down as head of the RNI, which will exclude him from heading the next government if his party wins the most seats. Akhannouch has defended his government's record -- including expanding social security coverage -- and promised the RNI will do more if re-elected. "We have done quite important work within the government," he said at a recent rally. "We carried out reforms in education and health, we increased salaries... we were there when (Moroccans) needed us." The wealthy businessman has nevertheless faced repeated accusations of conflicts of interest involving his company Afriquia, Morocco's leading fuel distributor. Akhannouch also faced widespread calls for his resignation during the youth-led Gen Z protests. The RNI's main rival is the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). The two centre-right parties are ideologically close and were founded by figures with ties to the royal palace. - 'Added value' - The PAM has recruited a popular figure, Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa, better known for his role as head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. "We want to make young people a force capable of bringing added value rather than being left behind," Lekjaa recently said, pledging higher wages and better purchasing power. But the PAM has no clear leader, and its other prominent figure is Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, currently the minister for territorial planning and mayor of Marrakesh, who could become the country's first woman premier. The PAM has also been hit by a corruption scandal. In June, a court sentenced two of its senior figures to 10 and 12 years in prison respectively in a major drug-trafficking case involving a kingpin dubbed the "Escobar of the Sahara". Also in contention is Istiqlal, a right-wing party led by equipment minister Nizar Baraka, with a campaign focused on social issues. And the Islamist opposition's Justice and Development Party has centred its campaign on fighting corruption. The conservative party, led by former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, has also campaigned against women's rights to equal inheritance and the decriminalisation of consensual extramarital sex. kao-isb/iba/bou/smw