In Mediouna, a modest district on the edge of the Casablanca-Settat region, the countdown to Morocco’s September legislative elections took on a distinctly personal note this week. Amin Nqatta, standing for the National Rally of Independents (RNI), told supporters that his 2026 candidacy is not a last-minute maneuver but the product of five uninterrupted years of grassroots work.
The claim carries weight because Nqatta has run before. In 2021, entering the race barely three months ahead of election day, he collected 11,600 votes but fell short of the parliamentary seat. Rather than reading the result as failure, he describes it as « a mandate of trust » that obligated him to stay engaged with residents rather than move on.
« There is no difference between Mediouna and Casablanca, none between Dakhla and Tangier, none between Taourirt and Rabat, » Nqatta said, framing his campaign as a rejection of what he called a « two-speed Morocco. » His slogan for this cycle, « Mediouna Moving Forward, » is meant to capture a demand that the district share in the investment and development opportunities routinely funneled to larger cities.
Over the past five years, Nqatta says he built out a support network rather than wait for another ballot. Through what he calls the « Ahrar Mediouna Nkon » academy, young people and women in the district received vocational training. He also points to sustained outreach toward residents with disabilities, mothers, fathers and elderly constituents as evidence that his engagement outlasted his 2021 defeat.
On healthcare, a recurring grievance in the district, Nqatta says he raised service shortfalls directly with the health minister and secured ministerial visits to assess the problems on the ground. Lacking a parliamentary seat of his own, he adds, he relied on RNI lawmakers to carry Mediouna’s concerns into government deliberations.
Nqatta frames the September 23 vote as continuity rather than a fresh start. Winning the seat, he argues, would let him « amplify Mediouna’s voice » inside parliament and push harder for the district’s share of investment projects. He closed his appeal to voters with a call to « choose the right person for the right place » and close what he called the chapter of marginalization.
