Parliament opens with elections on the horizon, and a long to-do list

Morocco’s House of Representatives opened its spring session on Friday with a packed legislative agenda and a deadline before Moroccans vote in September 2026.

Speaker Rachid Talbi Alami opened proceedings with ceremonial language, telling MPs they were resuming work “in an international context marked by crises whose global repercussions, geopolitical, economic, on trade, on markets, on supply are no secret to any of us.”

Morocco, he said, had proven its resilience. The King’s wisdom had steered the country toward “harbours of progress and advancement under stability,” and the Sahara cause was advancing.

Of the 39 bills on Parliament’s agenda, 23 are ratifications of international trade and cooperation agreements. That leaves 16 substantive laws to debate, amend and pass before the legislature dissolves ahead of the September vote.

Talbi Alami acknowledged the pressure, telling MPs their work must be “productive of positive impact where the winner is the nation and the citizen.”

The bill generating the most public anticipation is the Family Code reform. Proposed changes include tightening restrictions on underage marriage, revising polygamy rules and strengthening joint spousal responsibility.

Parliament is also debating a law that would criminalise “questioning the integrity and credibility of elections” on social media, with prison sentences and fines attached.

Also in the pipeline is a reorganisation of the National Press Council after the Constitutional Court ruled parts of the existing framework unconstitutional in January; a housing subdivision reform touching directly on property costs in a country where homeownership has become a generational aspiration; and the electoral laws governing who runs, how ballots look, and how votes are counted in September.

Between sessions, MPs submitted 2,481 questions to government, 865 oral, 1,616 written. The speaker cited the figure as evidence of parliamentary vitality.

Talbi Alami called on colleagues to ensure their debates “reflect the maturity of our institutional democracy and our parliamentary track record.”