In Morocco, centrist party tops parliament vote; Islamists make gains

A liberal-centrist party founded by an adviser to Morocco’s king came out on top in parliamentary elections after a late boost from the man credited with leading the national soccer team to global fame, early results show.

The vote is not expected to fundamentally change the political balance in the country, a constitutional monarchy where the king retains sweeping powers over foreign policy, defense and other key portfolios.

But the incoming parliament will shape the government overseeing the last stages of a $20-billion push to get ready for the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain.

It will also implement economic policies aimed at addressing widespread youth discontent, an issue highlighted by a mass border rush on the Spanish exclave of Ceuta this summer and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year.

The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) — which was the second-largest member in the outgoing coalition — moved up to the top spot, bolstered by the recruitment of Fouzi Lekjaa, Morocco’s soccer federation chief and two-time government budget manager, who joined weeks before the vote.

He is now seen as a strong potential candidate for prime minister, who is selected by the king from the winning party.

PAM was created in 2008 by an adviser to the king and has since positioned itself as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) by advocating social modernization and secular-leaning views.

The party’s coalition partners in the current government, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), lost its leading position and came second in the vote, according to the provisional tally.

PAM took 97 seats in the 395-seat parliament — up from the 87 it secured in the last vote in 2021 — ahead of the RNI with 66, while the conservative nationalist Istiqlal Party secured 65 seats, according to the results.

The Islamist PJD rebounded to 54 seats, from only 13 in the previous election, buoyed by the return of its former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane. One of its candidates who won a seat, according to Ynet, is Aziz Hanawi, an anti-Israel activist who opposes Morocco having established diplomatic relations with Israel. He was once pictured standing on the Israeli flag, according to the outlet.

The Islamist party headed Morocco’s government for two five-year terms after a new constitution was adopted in 2011 in the wake of the “Arab Spring” protests, but lost heavily in the last election.

Three leftist parties took smaller shares of the seats.