Morocco’s three-party governing coalition has begun openly courting one another’s lawmakers and local officials five months before the September 2026 legislative elections, breaching an informal agreement against internal poaching, the Arabic-language daily Assabah reported Monday.
The pact, never codified, but observed since the formation of Head of government Aziz Akhannouch’s coalition government in October 2021, committed the National Rally of Independents, the Authenticity and Modernity Party and the Istiqlal Party to refrain from contesting one another’s candidates.
The arrangement is now collapsing, according to officials cited by Assabah, with members of parliament across the majority being approached with offers to switch ranks.
The recruitment drive centers on lawmakers and local elected officials with established voter bases, as pitches typically combine the promise of stronger constituency support with backing in future contests, the daily reported.
Political contacts are especially active between the National Rally of Independents which leads the coalition with 102 seats, and PAM, which holds 87, where Assabah sources describe quiet but ongoing exchanges involving potential candidate swaps and parallel negotiations in both directions.
Istiqlal, the smallest of the three coalition partners with 81 seats, has expanded its targeting to lawmakers outside the alliance, focusing on regions where the party has historically underperformed.
In Morocco’s regional-list electoral system, the influence of notables capable of mobilizing constituency-level voter blocs is amplified at the seat-allocation stage. Tangier, Kenitra, Khemisset, Sidi Slimane and Sidi Kacem are among the localities where commune-level officials are already being approached, the daily reported.
According to Assabah, a commune president in the outskirts of Tangier recently received direct approaches from two coalition parties, each trying to secure his candidacy under their banner.
In another case, a regional elected official was reportedly offered backing for a leadership role in exchange for changing party affiliation.
Morocco’s last legislative elections in 2021, produced an upset in which the RNI, PAM and Istiqlal displaced the long-dominant Justice and Development Party, which was reduced from 125 seats to 13.
The three coalition partners absorbed significant numbers of notables and local elected figures during that cycle, including substantial flows from PAM and Istiqlal toward the RNI.
The September 2026 vote will renew Morocco’s 395-seat Chamber of Representatives.
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