Morocco’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) has secured the most seats in the country’s parliamentary election, winning 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, according to final results announced by the Ministry of Interior on September 26, 2026. Despite this victory, PAM fell short of the 198 seats required for an outright majority and will need to form a coalition with other parties to govern.
Under Morocco’s constitution, King Mohammed VI is required to appoint a prime minister from the party that wins the most seats. PAM, which was founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a close associate of the king, has been viewed as a counterbalance to the Justice and Development Party (PJD), a moderate Islamist party that previously led the government for a decade before its parliamentary representation decreased to 13 seats in 2021.
The PJD made a significant recovery in this election, increasing its seats to 54. However, due to a longstanding rivalry with PAM, a coalition between the two parties is considered unlikely. The PJD has announced its intention to remain in opposition, prompting PAM to seek alliances with the monarchist Istiqlal party, which finished in third place, and other parties to establish a governing majority.
PAM's senior coalition partner, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), experienced a decline, dropping from 102 seats to 66. Voter turnout for this election was reported at 38 percent of Morocco’s 15.8 million registered voters, marking the second-lowest participation rate since King Mohammed VI ascended to the throne in 1999, following a record low of 37 percent in 2007 and a decrease from approximately 51 percent in 2021.
Analysts attribute the low turnout to widespread public disengagement following youth-led protests last year regarding issues such as employment, healthcare, and education, as well as the deadly mass attempts by migrants to reach Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July.
Potential candidates for the position of prime minister include PAM members Fouzi Lekjaa, who is the head of Morocco’s football federation and budget minister, and Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, a PAM member serving as mayor of Marrakech and minister of national planning, urban planning, housing, and urban policy. If chosen, Mansouri would become Morocco’s first female prime minister.
The new government will be responsible for managing substantial investments as Morocco prepares to cohost the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.