“I will not vote for anyone. I am firmly convinced that this will have no positive effect on my living conditions,” asserts Saad, 28 years old. He is part of a small group of young people who gathered at the entrance to the old city, in the heart of Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco. Everyone appears disillusioned with the prospect of the legislative elections on September 23. “We have been used to these scenes for years, but look around you to realize that our situation has not changed,” laments another.
An opinion which seems far from being an isolated case. Among the young people interviewed by France 24, many expressed their doubts about the usefulness of the elections. After participating in or supporting the Gen Z 212 movement, young Moroccans remain skeptical of the promises of political parties.
The collective was formed last year after the outcry over the deaths of eight women who came to give birth in a public hospital in the city of Agadir. From the end of September 2025, the movement born on social networks organized rallies across the country to demand reforms, job creation, an end to corruption and the dismissal of the government.
Also readShortages, unsanitary conditions, corruption… Moroccan public hospitals are running out of steam
Gen Z 212 also pointed out the financial priorities of the State, believing that the colossal investments linked to the organization of the 2030 Football World Cup should have been accompanied by greater funding in hospitals and schools.
According to observers, these demonstrations highlighted the distrust of Moroccan youth towards political parties and traditional institutions. In 2025, a survey carried out by the NGO Moroccan Center for Citizenship revealed that nearly 95% of those questioned said they did not trust political parties.
“No confidence in political parties”
Karim belongs to this young, disenchanted generation. He will not vote on Wednesday either.
“I no longer see what we could gain from it. I no longer have any confidence in political parties. Even my brothers and members of my family will not vote. For years, we have been told the same promises, but nothing has changed,” breathes the young man, originally from Deroua, near Casablanca.
“Every five years, we find ourselves faced with the same reality. (…) The parties’ promises have no concrete impact,” continues Karim. “The main problem for young people is employment. It is very difficult to find a job, and even when you find one, the salaries are often very low and are not enough to cover the cost of living. Fortunately, I found a foreign application thanks to which I work, and which allows me to support myself and help some members of my family.”
For the young people who took to the streets last year, these elections are not a natural extension of their protest movement. Many believe that partisan institutions do not support their demands.
Also readIn Morocco, GenZ 212 rises up against inequality and corruption
If young people represent a significant part of the Moroccan population – around a quarter of Moroccans are between 15 and 29 years old – their presence in the electorate does not exactly reflect their demographic weight. According to the latest available data, 15% of voters registered on the electoral lists are between 25 and 34 years old, and only 4% between 18 and 24 years old.
These legislative elections also come almost two months after an unprecedented wave of migration towards the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The sign, according to some Moroccans, that social and economic injustices continue in the kingdom.
“If I had the opportunity to emigrate, I wouldn’t hesitate. I don’t want to stay here and live in these conditions. We, young people, want work, stability and the possibility of building our future,” explains Karim.
Change things from the inside
On the other hand, Salma remains convinced of the need for “change within the institutions themselves”. This university student and political activist affirms that “young people have the capacity to change their reality themselves by freely and democratically choosing those who represent them”.
“I followed in my father’s footsteps and joined a political party that gave me the opportunity to express myself, to have divergent opinions and to make my voice heard,” assures this young woman in her thirties. “I don’t understand those who prefer to remain spectators from a distance: how can they assert their demands? For me, change begins with the conviction that political action is useful and that institutions have the capacity to achieve it.”
Following the Generation Z protests, the government launched a series of measures aimed at encouraging young people’s participation in politics. Among them is a program allowing up to 75% of the electoral campaign expenses of candidates under the age of 35 without political affiliation to be covered. The reform also establishes quotas for women and young people in party leadership, with financial incentives.
A young Moroccan calls to vote in the legislative elections in Casablanca, September 19, 2026. © Hamza Habhoub
Beyond the question of the representation of young people in political life, health and education, at the heart of the demands of Gen Z, were among the priorities of the 2026 budget. The financial envelope devoted to these two sectors thus amounts to 140 billion dirhams (13 billion euros), with the creation of more than 27,000 positions. The government also announced the launch of a program to rehabilitate and renovate 90 hospitals.
“The decision-making power is far from the parties”
Sanaa, a university student who has regularly participated in Generation Z protests, however, sees protest as “a more effective way to make young people’s voices heard than political participation.”
A young Moroccan who will boycott the legislative elections. Casablanca, September 19, 2026. © Hamza Habhoub
“The decision-making power is far from the parties, or even the government,” she assures. “I am aware that major strategic decisions are not taken in Parliament and that the powers of this institution are limited, but I do not deny its responsibility for what we are experiencing today; this is why I made the decision not to vote.”
Also readNepal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Madagascar… what legacy for the Gen Z protests?
For his part, Tarik Atlati, president of the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies and Research, affirms that Morocco “has experienced significant transformations in recent years on the economic, infrastructure and diplomatic levels”, citing the extension of road, rail and port networks, the development of the industrial and logistics sectors as well as projects linked to energy and water, without forgetting the preparations for the 2030 World Cup.
However, he believes that “the impact of these transformations remains uneven according to social categories and regions, in a context marked by challenges linked to employment, purchasing power, health and education”.
Towards strong abstention
During the 2021 legislative elections, the participation rate was around 50% of registered voters. But many people fear an increase in abstention during these legislative elections. Indeed, the number of voters registered on the electoral lists this year is around 2.2 million fewer than in 2021.
Furthermore, several analysts explain that participation in the 2021 elections was reinforced by the concomitance between the legislative elections and local elections that year.
A political party campaigns for the legislative elections in the old town of Casablanca, September 19, 2026. © Hamza Habhoub
While traditional parties focus on mobilizing young voters and trying to convince them of the benefit of voting, many of them believe that protest or emigration are more effective ways to make things happen or make their demands heard.
Analyst Tarek Atlati believes that these challenges “do not cancel out the transformations that Morocco has experienced, but they reveal a gap between major policies and strategies and their impact on the daily life of certain categories of the population and certain regions.”
Article adapted from Arabic by Grégoire Sauvage. The original can be found here.
