Nizar Baraka called on political forces to close ranks after his party finished third in Wednesday’s legislative elections with 65 seats, saying the next political chapter must include an effort to restore young people’s trust.
There were cheers at Istiqlal headquarters in Rabat when the provisional results came through, even though the party had lost ground from five years ago.
Istiqlal finished third with 65 seats, down from the 81 it won in 2021. But only one seat now separates it from the RNI, which suffered a much steeper fall from 102 seats to 66. PAM moved past both to take first place with 97 seats.
Making his first remarks after the results were announced, Baraka thanked voters who had placed their trust in Istiqlal but gave little away about where the party sees itself in the next political arrangement.
“Istiqlal will remain mobilized to serve the nation and citizens, particularly at a time of major challenges that require everyone to work together as dynamic forces, whether in the majority or the opposition,” he said.
Istiqlal spent the outgoing five-year term in government alongside RNI and PAM. Together, the three parties entered the 2021 House with 270 of its 395 seats. This time, their combined provisional tally stands at 228.
The losses, however, have redrawn the balance between them.
RNI has shed 36 seats and Istiqlal 16, while PAM has moved in the opposite direction, climbing from 87 seats in 2021 to 97 and displacing RNI at the top of the table. Istiqlal, despite its own losses, now finds itself just one seat behind its former senior coalition partner.
The PJD’s return has altered the arithmetic further. Reduced to 13 MPs five years ago, the party took 54 seats in the provisional results, placing it fourth and only 11 seats behind Istiqlal.
Further down the table, the Popular Movement won 29 seats, the USFP 26, the PPS 19 and the Constitutional Union 17. The MDS and Left Alliance took eight each.
For Istiqlal, the celebrations therefore came with a different parliamentary hand from the one it held in 2021. Fewer seats of its own, a much weaker RNI beside it, PAM at the head of the table and a resurgent PJD back with 54 MPs.
Baraka, for now, stopped short of saying which side of the House his 65 MPs would occupy.
