Moroccans vote for new Parliament with eye on social concerns

Nearly 16 million Moroccans were registered to elect 395 members of Parliament on Wednesday, with unemployment, inflation, and inequality dominating campaign messaging. Turnout stood at just 11.3% by midday, reflecting disillusionment voiced by residents like 59-year-old Majda Bakatir, who said she had lost faith in the political class entirely.

Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch's National Rally of Independents leads the governing coalition and is considered a favorite alongside its close rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which recently weathered a corruption scandal involving senior members convicted in a drug-trafficking case. Morocco's king appoints the prime minister from the winning party but retains control over major policy decisions regardless of the vote's outcome.

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