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The Moroccan Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday that the voter turnout in the parliamentary elections reached 21 percent after 7 hours of voting had passed.
The Ministry said in a statement that the national voter turnout in the elections for the House of Representatives (the first chamber of Parliament) reached 21 percent until 15:00 (local time), while the voting process began at 08:00 (local time).
It added that the voting process in various regions of the Kingdom is proceeding under "normal circumstances"
In the previous parliamentary elections, held on September 8, 2021, the final voter turnout was 50.18 percent.
Polling stations are scheduled to close at 19:00 (local time), after which the process of counting votes will begin in the presence of representatives of the candidate lists.
The elections are being monitored by 3,206 observers, including 200 foreigners.
According to official data, the number of registered voters in the electoral rolls is 15,801,162 people.
28 parties are competing through 1,850 lists that include 7,288 candidates, including 2,658 women, for 395 seats in the House of Representatives.
The Ministry of Interior is expected to announce the preliminary results of the elections in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to Article 47 of the Moroccan Constitution, the King appoints the head of government from the political party that tops the elections for the House of Representatives, while the members of the government are appointed at the proposal of the head of the government.
Obtaining a majority within the House of Representatives requires at least 198 seats, which opens the door to consultations to form a government majority following the announcement of the results.
The next government awaits political, economic, and social files, along with projects related to Morocco's preparations to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
In the 2021 elections, the "National Rally of Independents" party topped the results with 102 seats, followed by the "Authenticity and Modernity" party with 86 seats, and then the "Independence" party with 81 seats.
The current government is headed by Aziz Akhannouch, leader of the "National Rally of Independents," within a government coalition that also includes the "Authenticity and Modernity" and "Independence" parties.
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