Kingdom of Morocco: Parliament, 7 October 2016

At stake in this election:

• 395 seats in the Majlis Annouwab (Chamber of Representatives)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King MOHAMMED VI (since 30 July 1999)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Abdelillah BENKIRANE (since 29 November 2011)
• Assembly: Morocco has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Chamber of Advisors with 120 seats and the Chamber of Representatives with 395 seats. 

Description of electoral system:

• In the Chamber of Representatives, 305 members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 90 members are directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote. Members serve 5-year terms.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Chamber of Representatives were last held on 25 November 2011. These elections were the first to be held following the adoption of a new constitution in July 2011. The Justice and Development Party won 107 seats, the Istiqlal Party won 60, the National Rally of Independents won 52, the Authenticity and Modernity Party won 47, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces won 39, Popular Movement took 32, Constitutional Union took 23, and the Progress and Socialism Party won 18. Several other smaller parties also won seats in 2011.[1]

Main parties in the election:

• ​Justice and Development Party (PJD)/Parti de la Justice et du Dévelopement
  • ​Leader: Abdelillah BENKIRANE
  • Seats won in last election: 107
• Istiqlal Party (PI)/Parti d'Independence
  • ​Leader: Hamid CHABAT
  • Seats won in last election: 60
• National Rally of Independents (RNI)/Rassemblement National des Indépendents
  • ​Leader: Salaheddine MEZOUAR
  • Seats won in last election: 52
• Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM)/Parti Authenticité et Modernité
  • ​Leader: Ilyas EL OMARI
  • Seats won in last election: 47
• Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP)/Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires
  • ​Leader: Driss LACHGAR
  • Seats won in last election: 39
• Popular Movement (MP)/Mouvement Popular
  • Leader: Mohand LAENSER
  • Seats won in last election: 32
• Constitutional Union (UC)/Union Constitutionelle 
  • ​Leader: Mohamed SAJID
  • Seats won in last election: 23
• Progress and Socialism Party (PPS)/Parti du Progrés et du Socialisme
  • ​Leader: Nabil BENABDELLAH
  • Seats won in last election: 18

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 33,322,699 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 13,475,435 (2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 16,950,466 (July 2015 est.)

·         Is Morocco a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Morocco ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (21 June 1993)

·         Gender Quota: Yes[2]

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 71 (13.79%)[3] 

·         Human Development Index Position: 126 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Morocco a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Morocco ratified CRPD: Yes (8 April 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 4,998,405