Social media personality with no prior political experience has emerged as the surprise front-runner in one of Morocco’s most closely watched legislative races, according to preliminary results from this week’s parliamentary elections.
Oussama Barik, whose real name is Abdelaziz Barik, secured roughly 21% of the vote in the Midelt constituency after 80% of ballots were counted, more than double the tally of his nearest rival. Officials reported he collected around 32,684 votes, putting him well ahead of Rachid Alaoui Taibi of the Popular Movement party, who took 11.93%, and Marouane Ashbaatou of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, who finished third with 8.94%.
The result stunned observers in a constituency long shaped by established parties with deep organizational roots. The Popular Movement, historically one of the strongest forces in Morocco’s rural and Amazigh-majority regions, a natural fit for Midelt’s mountainous, largely Amazigh population, finished a distant second.
The Authenticity and Modernity Party, one of the country’s largest political forces nationally, trailed in third. Both candidates had more conventional political experience than Barik, making his margin of victory over them especially notable to local observers.
Barik, who built a large following on Facebook by spotlighting the struggles of residents in Imilchil and other mountainous areas of the province, including poor infrastructure and limited access to basic services, ran on a message of direct engagement with voters rather than conventional campaign rhetoric.
His victory comes amid a broader national conversation about youth participation in Moroccan politics. Ahead of this year’s vote, authorities introduced new incentives for candidates under 35, including public funding covering up to 75% of campaign costs for youth-led lists, part of a stated effort to draw a new generation into parliament.
That specific mechanism largely fell flat nationwide, with only a handful of qualifying independent youth lists registered. Barik instead ran under an established party’s banner, reportedly with the backing of the Constitutional Union, making him emblematic of a related trend: parties actively recruiting social-media figures with large, mobilizable audiences.
Critics online accused him of contradicting his populist image by aligning with what they called an “administrative party” seen as distant from ordinary citizens, a tension that shadowed his campaign even as his vote count climbed.
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