Disillusioned young voters in Morocco were courted with viral football slogans, promises of one million jobs and anti-Israel rallying calls ahead of Wednesday's parliamentary elections. Yet, for many young Moroccans, politics remains deeply disconnected from reality. "I have no hope for this election.
I'm ashamed of our political scene. It's a complete circus," Siham Azeroual, 32, an environmental activist who lives in the Atlas region, tells the BBC. The outcome of the vote will decide the make-up of the next government, just weeks after 60,000 people risked their lives to cross from the North African country to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta - a sign of the lack of opportunities many young people feel they have at home.
Morocco operates as a constitutional monarchy where political parties compete for 395 seats in the House of Representatives, the legislative chamber. Yet executive power remains closely tied to the crown. King Mohammed VI, the 63-year-old monarch, appoints the prime minister from the political party that comes first in the election, but also presides over the Council of Ministers - the country's most important policy-making body.
The current campaign also follows a wave of Gen Z protests that erupted in September 2025 over unemployment, healthcare and living costs. Demonstrators chanted slogans like "freedom, dignity, and social justice" which escalated to "get out Akhannouch", a reference to current Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch. More than 2,400 people faced prosecution following the unrest.
Despite the crackdown, some young activists are choosing to enter the political arena. Hamza El Kharroubi, 29, was briefly arrested during the protests. He is now running for parliament with the little-known Environment and Sustainable Development Party, which has a green agenda.
"As a young person, I don't have much hope. I joined this party because they wanted more Gen Z faces and they are allowing us to speak freely about our demands," El Kharroubi tells the BBC. He comes from Tetouan, just 34km (21 miles) from Fnideq beach, where the migration wave to Ceuta started in late July.
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