Morocco’s southern provinces recorded significantly higher voter turnout than the national average in Wednesday’s legislative elections, even as nationwide participation fell from 50.86% in 2021 to 38.08% in 2026. Certified tallies from the Ministry of the Interior showed turnout reaching 77% in Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, 61% in Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab, and 53.48% in Guelmim-Oued Noun.
The vote in the southern provinces was monitored by independent domestic observers accredited through the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) alongside international delegations operating under UN standards.
Hamdani Moulay Boubkir Hamdani, president of the Centre for Strategic Reflection and Defense of Democracy in Laâyoune, told the MAP news agency the sustained participation reflects southern electors’ commitment to shaping the Sahara’s socioeconomic and institutional governance.
The pattern extends previous election cycles: turnout in the Laâyoune constituency reached 57.21% in 2016, while in 2021 participation rose to 66.94% in Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, 63.76% in Guelmim-Oued Noun and 58.30% in Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. The more than 23-point gap between Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Guelmim-Oued Noun this year reflects differences in demographic dispersion and local socioeconomic characteristics.
The election took place against a backdrop of growing international consolidation around Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara, backed by successive UN Security Council resolutions and partner nations including the European Union — a dynamic observers say reinforced the ballot box as the primary vehicle for political representation in the region, alongside public support for major investments in water desalination and renewable energy.
The vote also produced a milestone for women’s political representation from the Sahara, with eight Sahrawi women elected to the House of
Representatives across five parties: Moufida Widad, Roqaya Cherif and Fatima Ould Omar of the Istiqlal Party, Aziza Baddad and Zineb El Kouri of the PAM, Fatima Souidi of the PPS, Asmaa Aouba of the USFP, and Khadijatou Lkhleiki of the Popular Movement — part of a broader incoming legislature that will include 95 female deputies overall.
