International Republican Institute praises 'peaceful, orderly and transparent' elections in Morocco's southern provinces

The International Republican Institute (IRI), a non partisan U.S organisation dedicated to promoting democracy and freedom worldwide, praised on Tuesday the “peaceful, orderly and transparent” conduct of the parliamentary elections held on September 23rd, in the Southern Provinces of Morocco, where voter turnout “significantly exceeded the national average”, similarly to previous elections.

“The authorities managed the conduct of the parliamentary elections with professionalism and integrity,” said the Washington-based organisation, who deployed a team of experts to assess the elections in Morocco’s Southern Provinces.

In its technical assessment report, published Tuesday, the IRI also noted that Morocco’s Southern Provinces had benefited from “significant investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, logistics and fisheries in particular,” emphasizing that these achievements had “highlighted the importance of how national priorities are translated into local governance and development outcomes”.

In this regard, the IRI’s assessment points out that, in addition to the United States’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara in 2020, “more than 130 countries have endorsed the Moroccan autonomy plan for this region, considering it to be the most sustainable political solution to the conflict”.

It goes on to add that in October 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, “which endorses the Moroccan autonomy plan as a credible and viable political solution to the conflict”.

Referring to the conduct of the parliamentary elections in the Southern Provinces, the IRI’s assessment welcomes the fact that party representatives and national and international observers “were granted extensive access to voting, counting and result-tallying operations”, adding also that security forces “conducted themselves professionally”.