Political parties in Morocco are seeking to attract young voters ahead of next week’s election by promising jobs and affordable housing amid widespread youth disenchantment.

The September 23 election is Morocco’s fourth since the 2011 Arab Spring protests, which led the monarchy to share more power with parliament before later reinforcing its position.

Uneven development and economic hardship among young people have been cited as drivers of last year’s violent protests and a mass border rush into Spain’s Ceuta enclave in July.

The National Rally of Independents (RNI) and Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), both founded by figures close to the palace, have made youth employment central to their campaigns.

The two parties have pledged to create about one million jobs during the next parliamentary term and highlighted about $20 billion in infrastructure investments ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Morocco will co-host the tournament with Spain and Portugal.

PAM’s campaign manifesto said, ”We reject the idea that young people simply want an easy life.”

Analysts said the challenge of engaging young voters was reflected in last year’s deadly, Gen-Z-led protests and the mass migration attempt towards Ceuta.

”The Ceuta mass migration attempt is a new form of social protest in which many citizens demonstrated a physical exit from Moroccan politics altogether,” said Mohamed Masbah, head of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis.

Although people aged 18 to 24 account for about 12 per cent of Morocco’s population, they represent only about three per cent of registered voters, official figures show.

An Afrobarometer survey published in March found that only one-third of Moroccans aged 18 to 35 trusted parliament, the prime minister, or political parties.

Young voters have said they were discouraged by the perception that elections change the balance between parties without producing major policy changes.

”We keep seeing the same faces return with promises that many young voters no longer believe,” said university student Mohamed Azzaoui, who said he did not intend to vote.

Under Morocco’s political system, the monarchy retains control over the country’s broad policy direction and has consolidated authority over key portfolios, including foreign and interior affairs.

Economist Rachid Aourraz said political parties were therefore competing less over the overall development model and more over how to implement the palace’s objectives.

Mr Masbah said, “If everything goes well, the monarchy takes credit. If things go wrong, the government gets the blame.”

In recent years, Morocco has relied heavily on its economic strategy, with major investments in deepwater ports, phosphates, green energy and railway infrastructure.

The country’s New Development Model, inaugurated about five years ago, aims to double gross domestic product per capita by 2035.

However, economic progress has not always translated into public satisfaction, with youth unemployment standing at about 27 per cent, the highest among age groups.

Official statistics also show that about one in three young Moroccans is neither working, studying nor undergoing training.

Morocco’s central bank recently noted that persistent unemployment and other factors had created ”a gap between objectively measured economic performance and citizens’ perceptions”.

(Reuters/NAN)