The direct participation of Moroccans residing abroad (MRE) in the upcoming legislative, communal, and regional elections from their host countries remains uncertain. With a year to go until the 2026 legislative elections, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftite sidestepped the issue in his response to a written question from Khalid Essati, a parliamentary advisor from the National Union of Moroccan Workers (UNTM), the trade union arm of the PJD. However, he recalled that in 2021, political parties were required to place a woman residing abroad at the top of at least one regional list, a necessary condition to access public funding. In his response, Laftite stated that the government remains open to any constructive proposals aimed at strengthening the involvement of MREs in political life. He also emphasized the crucial role of political parties in enabling Moroccans worldwide to run for office. For now, the Ministry of the Interior has yet to begin consultations with political parties on adopting new electoral laws that will govern the upcoming elections: the 2026 legislative polls and the communal and regional elections of 2027. It is worth recalling that in March 2021, an overwhelming majority of MPs rejected an amendment proposed by the Istiqlal Party that would have allowed MREs to participate directly in the September 2021 legislative elections from abroad. The vote was decisive: 244 against, 8 abstentions, and only 18 in favor, all from Istiqlal. The Justice and Development Party (PJD), Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), National Rally of Independents (RNI), Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), and Popular Movement (MP) all voted against direct participation. Yet Article 17 of the Constitution guarantees MREs «full citizenship rights, including the right to vote and eligibility. They can run for elections on local, regional, and national electoral lists and constituencies».
