After opposing in March 2021 the direct participation of Moroccans living abroad (MREs) in legislative elections, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) is now shifting its position. In a memorandum addressed to the Ministry of the Interior, the party is calling for MREs to be granted the right to «vote directly from their host countries», stressing that the current proxy voting system has reached its limits. The PJD suggests reserving seats on the national list for MREs who wish to run as candidates in the 2026 legislative elections. It also recommends allocating additional seats to candidates representing the Moroccan diaspora in the House of Representatives, though without specifying how many. This new approach follows a call made on August 11 by the PJD's regional secretariat abroad, urging the direct participation of MREs from their host countries in the upcoming elections. It is worth recalling that in March 2021, an overwhelming majority of MPs rejected an amendment tabled by the Istiqlal Party that sought to allow MREs to vote directly in the September 2021 elections from abroad. The outcome was clear: 244 votes against, 8 abstentions, and just 18 in favor—all from Istiqlal. The PJD, along with the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), and the Popular Movement (MP), had voted against the proposal. Yet Article 17 of the Constitution explicitly guarantees MREs «full citizenship rights, including the right to vote and to stand for election. They may run for office on local, regional, and national electoral lists and constituencies».
