In a damning political critique of Morocco’s deteriorating party and institutional landscape, the academic and human rights activist Latifa El Bouhsini has asserted that campaigning for a boycott of the upcoming elections will require minimal effort. She argued that the ruling oligarchic administration has already alienated the electorate, successfully distancing citizens not only from the ballot box but from the democratic process in its entirety.
Writing on Facebook, the activist directed her criticism at the governing coalition of power and capital, stating that the executive had systematically eroded public trust in state institutions and politics. She characterised the current institutional decay as the inevitable consequence of practices by “major looters” who have partitioned state resources among themselves, using the apparatus of law and government to serve narrow, private interests.
According to El Bouhsini, the prerequisites for genuine political engagement are entirely absent from the current environment, noting that voting must be underpinned by a fundamental confidence in the possibility of change. She argued that current electoral laws, specifically the controversial electoral quotient, have hollowed out political competition, reducing public participation to a cosmetic exercise designed to legitimise a closed, pre-engineered system. She warned that entering the electoral arena unconditionally merely reinforces compliance with the status quo under the guise of a false clear conscience, relegating political parties to minor roles in a poorly directed theatrical production. Furthermore, she noted that the current political climate serves only to whitewash authoritarianism, whilst exposing the systemic fragility and blatant opportunism of those entering the race solely for personal advancement.
In an attempt to break the deadlock between the options of boycott and participation, El Bouhsini proposed an alternative strategy based on a broad, organised front of political resistance. She called for extensive coordination among national parties willing to contest the elections, on the condition that they agree to a binding minimum pact capable of restoring meaning and political impact to the vote. Central to this coordination, she emphasised, must be an absolute rejection of the controversial 2021 election scenario, which delivered a dominant oligarchic majority that has since utilised state institutions for illicit enrichment and the entrenchment of political rent-seeking. This alliance, she argued, should be led by parties possessing sufficient parliamentary expertise to enact pivotal reforms, thereby revitalising the legislature and preventing it from devolving into an empty rhetorical circus.
The activist also sought to redefine the act of boycotting as a proactive form of political pressure. She advocated for a “constructive boycott,” whereby non-participating factions unite around specific objectives to exert tangible political and grassroots pressure on decision-makers, whilst providing indirect support to reformist parties choosing to contest the polls.
Concluding her analysis with a stern warning to the political establishment, El Bouhsini stated that the country could no longer tolerate political posturing. She described continued stubbornness, collective selfishness, and passive waiting as a profound betrayal of the public, particularly the impoverished sectors of society. She maintained that the potential for meaningful coordination exists to dismantle the oligarchy and fulfill the Moroccan people’s aspirations for genuine democracy.
