Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) has described the September 23 legislative elections as transparent and conducted in a normal atmosphere, recording only two isolated incidents that did not disrupt the overall voting process.
CNDH President Amina Bouayach presented the preliminary findings on Thursday following extensive independent observation.
The council, together with 25 associations, deployed hundreds of observers across the kingdom.
Coverage included 733 communes out of 1,538 (542 rural and 191 urban), with particular attention to areas affected by the Atlas earthquake and recent floods.
Observers were present in 3,915 of the country’s approximately 40,700 polling stations, an 8.9 percent coverage rate that exceeds the international standard of 3 to 5 percent.
An additional 1,644 stations hosted international observers. Bouayach stated that the vote proceeded under normal conditions.
Of the two isolated incidents noted, she detailed one in Tangier at the Al Qods school, where an individual was arrested in possession of ballots.
She praised the observers for promptly sharing their findings with the council.
On the national turnout of 38 percent, Bouayach described the figure as “a warning for elected institutions,” urging them to take action to “revise the situation.”
The 2026 results, she said, raise questions about the link between political rights and their effective exercise, as well as the need to consolidate public trust so that youth and citizens more broadly engage in the electoral process.
James Mouangue Kobila, president of Cameroon’s Human Rights Commission and an international observer, confirmed that the vote he monitored in four Tangier centers took place under good conditions.
