Turnout: 50.35%
About this election
Morocco held general elections on 8 September 2021 to renew the 395-seat House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwab), the directly elected lower chamber of parliament. For the first time the legislative vote was combined on a single day with the regional and municipal elections, a change intended to lift turnout. The result was a political earthquake: the liberal, business-aligned National Rally of Independents (RNI), led by the billionaire entrepreneur Aziz Akhannouch, surged from fourth place to first with 102 seats, while the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which had led the government for a decade, collapsed from 125 seats to just 13 — one of the steepest reversals ever recorded in a Moroccan election.
Turnout rose to 50.35%, up more than seven points on 2016 and the highest since 2002, helped by holding all three ballots together. The RNI took 102 seats on 27.69% of the vote, ahead of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) on 87 seats (18.47%) and the historic nationalist Istiqlal (Independence) Party on 81 (16.87%). The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) won 34, the Popular Movement (MP) 28, the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) 22 and the Constitutional Union (UC) 18. The PJD's 13 seats left it in eighth place, a loss of 112 seats — more than 90% of its parliamentary strength. Smaller parties shared the remainder: the MDS 5, the FFD 3, and the FGD and PSU one seat each.
The House of Representatives is elected by proportional representation across two tiers. Of the 395 seats, 305 are filled from 92 local multi-member constituencies (each returning two to six members) and the remaining 90 from twelve regional constituencies whose lists are reserved to boost the representation of women — at least one-third of the seats on each list, with women in the first two positions. Seats are allocated by the largest-remainder method. A controversial 2021 electoral law removed the previous vote threshold and, crucially, recalculated the electoral quotient from the number of registered voters rather than the number of votes actually cast. This mechanically caps how many seats any single list can win in a district, dispersing seats far more widely among parties and heavily penalising the front-runners — a change widely seen as designed to prevent another PJD landslide.
Morocco's crowded multi-party system never produces a single-party majority; every government is a coalition and 198 seats are needed for one. The RNI, PAM and Istiqlal — three parties broadly aligned with the palace and the business establishment — together commanded 270 seats and formed the new government under Akhannouch. The USFP (social democrats), MP (rural, Amazigh-rooted centrists), PPS (former communists) and UC (right-liberals) make up the traditional middle of the spectrum, while the PJD represents the country's organised political Islam. Because the monarchy sets the strategic direction of the state, campaigns turned on economic management, the cost of living, water scarcity and the pandemic recovery rather than on fundamental questions of power.
The Justice and Development Party had topped the polls in 2011 and 2016 and held the premiership under Abdelilah Benkirane and then Saadeddine Othmani. Its downfall in 2021 had several causes: fatigue after ten years in office; anger among its base at compromises made in government, including the normalisation of relations with Israel and the reform of pension and legalised-cannabis policy; and above all the new electoral quotient, which erased the seat bonus that had rewarded its status as the largest party. Othmani himself failed to win re-election in Rabat. The day after the vote he resigned as secretary-general, and the party called the result "incomprehensible and illogical"; Benkirane returned to lead it weeks later.
King Mohammed VI named Aziz Akhannouch prime minister on 10 September 2021, and by 22 September the RNI, Istiqlal and PAM had agreed a coalition. The new government took office on 7 October. Its priorities included expanding social protection, managing a severe multi-year drought and water crisis, and preparing Morocco's economy for major projects such as co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
This page shows the final national seat distribution and vote share for the 2021 House of Representatives election, as announced by Morocco's Ministry of the Interior, which administers and certifies the results. Figures are reported to two decimal places exactly as published.
Morocco elected its 395-seat House of Representatives on 8 September 2021, for the first time on the same day as the regional and municipal elections. It was the second general election held under the 2011 constitution.
The National Rally of Independents (RNI), led by Aziz Akhannouch, won the most seats — 102 of 395, on 27.69% of the vote — and formed a coalition government with the Istiqlal Party and the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). Akhannouch became prime minister on 10 September 2021.
The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) fell from 125 seats to just 13 — a loss of 112. The causes included fatigue after a decade in power, disappointment among its base over compromises in government, and a 2021 electoral-law change that recalculated the seat quotient from registered voters rather than votes cast, erasing the advantage of being the largest party.
The House of Representatives is elected by proportional representation: 305 seats from 92 local multi-member constituencies and 90 from twelve regional lists reserved to promote women's representation. Seats are allocated by largest remainder, and 198 are needed for a majority. No party wins outright, so governments are always coalitions.
Turnout was 50.35%, up more than seven points on 2016 and the highest since 2002 — helped by combining the legislative, regional and municipal votes on a single day.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.