The election campaign for the September 8 polls started on Thursday (00H00), marking the beginning of an important step towards the consolidation of democratic practice in Morocco.

The campaign, which will end Tuesday, September 7 at midnight, is an opportunity for political parties in the running to present and defend before the voters their programs and economic, social and cultural projects in order to convince them to adhere to the approaches they advocate to overcome the challenges facing the country.

In the context of the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, political parties will be obliged to adjust their communication strategies, to use digital techniques (videoconferencing, hybrid meetings, etc.), to limit conventional meetings to a minimum and to scrupulously observe the restrictions in force against the pandemic.

Given this exceptional and unprecedented context, political parties are called upon to develop a roadmap that is flexible and easily adaptable to the pandemic situation, adjusting their communication techniques with the measures recommended by the health authorities and the government’s guidelines for managing the pandemic.

The election campaign was preceded by the filing of candidacies for the general elections, an operation that took place from August 16 to 25 at midnight.

Contesting candidates, from 32 parties legally entitled to run in the next election, cover local and regional electoral districts.

The electoral roll for the planned 2021 legislative elections has recorded a total of 17,983,490 registrants, according to the official electoral roll website.

Statistics show that 17,983,490 citizens have registered to take part in the elections of September 08, i.e. 2,280,898 new voters compared to the last elections.

In terms of gender, 46% of voters are women and 54% are men, while 46% of voters are from rural areas and 54% from urban zones.

In terms of age segmentation, 23% of voters are 60 years and older, while 09% are 55-59 years old and 20% are 45-54 years old. Voters aged 35-44 represent 21%, compared to 19% for the 25-34 age group and 8% for the 18-24 age group.

With regard to financing, the decision of the Head of Government No. 21.24.3 dated May 26, 2021 sets the overall amount of the State’s contribution to the financing of electoral campaigns for the election of members of the House of Representatives at 160 million dirhams.

Decision 21.25.3, published on the same date, sets the State’s contribution to the financing of electoral campaigns for the communal elections at MAD 180 million, compared to MAD 80 million for the regional elections.