Morocco's coalition loses seats and keeps power, as PJD's comeback hopes collapse

A party that finished second in the last election has emerged as the front-runner in one of Morocco’s most closely watched parliamentary contests, the only member of the outgoing governing coalition whose seat count rose, according to provisional results announced by Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit at about 3:25 a.m. Thursday.

The Authenticity and Modernity Party secured 97 seats in the new parliament, up from second place and 87 seats in 2021, a gain of 10. The National Rally of Independents fell to 66 seats, down 36, the steepest drop of any major party. The Istiqlal Party fell to 65, down 16, finishing third and just one seat behind RNI. Because the figures remain provisional, that narrow gap could still shift before final results are certified.

The three parties had spent five years as senior partners in government, making PAM’s growth against them especially notable to observers of the coalition.

Since Laftit’s announcement, the story has moved from counting to party reaction, though no new institutional step has yet followed.

PAM celebrated immediately with supporters and senior figures at its Rabat headquarters broke into celebrations when the 97-seat result came through. Minutes earlier, the party had appeared to be winding the night down, with spokesman Samir Goudar telling journalists PAM’s press conference was being postponed until 2 p.m.

PJD’s mood changed sharply once the full national table arrived. Early returns from individual polling stations had produced genuine confidence about a comeback, but the final provisional ranking placed the party fourth with 54 seats, behind both RNI and Istiqlal. Journalists reported surprise at PJD headquarters, where officials had expected RNI to suffer a far heavier defeat. Abdelilah Benkirane did not speak after the results were announced and his response has been postponed until later Thursday.

Before the announcement, party figure Mohamed Chouki said only that RNI was satisfied with its preliminary performance. By around 1 a.m., senior figures had largely left the party’s headquarters, and its communications team said no statement was planned for that night.