DAKHLA — Political horse-trading before a single vote is cast has become something of a national pastime in Morocco, and Mohamed Chouki wants it to stop. Addressing supporters in Dakhla this week, the leader of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) delivered a pointed message to rivals and allies alike: the outcome of the coming elections belongs to voters, not to parties negotiating coalitions in advance.
Chouki’s remarks land at a moment when speculation over post-election alliances has been building steadily, with commentators and party insiders alike floating scenarios for how a future cabinet might be assembled. He dismissed that entire exercise as premature, arguing that no party has the standing to claim a share of power before Moroccans have had their say at the ballot box.
Rather than dwell on hypothetical coalitions, the RNI leader chose to frame his party’s campaign around its record. He walked through what he described as a continuous field operation built over several phases — from an initial « trust track » through a « cities track » and an « achievements track, » now culminating in what the party calls its « future track. » The throughline, he argued, is a party that has spent years listening to constituents rather than one improvising a platform weeks before an election.
He pointed to specific, unglamorous policy areas his party has focused on: urban planning, individual household connections to water networks, and the everyday quality of public services. These, he said, are not slogans to be revived every five years and then forgotten, but commitments that require sustained follow-through between election cycles.
Chouki closed his remarks on a local note, throwing his full support behind the RNI’s candidates in Dakhla, Malak and Mohamed Lemine, and reiterating that his party intends to finish at the top of the results « on the strength of citizens’ trust and votes » — not through deals struck behind closed doors.
The comments come against the backdrop of an increasingly crowded pre-campaign season, with parties across the spectrum jockeying for position ahead of the official start of electioneering. Whether Chouki’s call for restraint gains any traction with rival parties remains to be seen; for now, talk of future governing coalitions shows little sign of slowing down.
