Morocco’s Interior Ministry delivered its verdict on Wednesday: the September 23 legislative elections unfolded smoothly across the kingdom, and the country’s southern provinces once again proved to be its most engaged voters.
Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said isolated incidents were reported in a handful of polling stations nationwide, but none affected the overall integrity or smooth running of the vote. To ensure transparency, authorities deployed a sizeable monitoring operation, with 3,006 national and international observers tracking the process from the opening of polls to the final ballot count.
Nationally, turnout settled at 38.08%, a marked drop from the more than 50% recorded in the 2021 legislative elections. Analysts say the figure reflects a broader trend of voter fatigue seen across several recent votes in the region, though it obscures sharp regional contrasts.
Those contrasts were most visible in the Moroccan Sahara. Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra posted the country’s highest turnout at 77%, followed by Dakhla-Oued Eddahab at 61% and Guelmim-Oued Noun at 53.48%. Officials and commentators alike point to these figures as evidence of the southern provinces’ deep attachment to national unity and their determination to make their voice heard within Morocco’s democratic institutions.
The timing is notable. The strong Saharan turnout comes as Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara continues to gain diplomatic traction internationally, with a growing number of capitals endorsing it as the most credible and pragmatic path toward a lasting settlement. For many observers, the ballot-box mobilization in Laâyoune, Dakhla and Guelmim sends its own political signal: a population fully invested in the kingdom’s institutions, at a moment when the territorial dispute is drawing renewed international attention.
The Interior Ministry said final results would be released in the coming hours as vote counting wraps up across the country’s constituencies. For now, the government’s message is one of reassurance — a vote held without major disruption, closely monitored, and marked by a southern turnout that stands in sharp contrast to the national decline.
