Casablanca – Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) is seeking to rebuild its political standing in the September 23, 2026 legislative elections after suffering one of the sharpest electoral declines in the country’s recent political history.

The party, which led two successive governments after emerging as the largest force in the 2011 and 2016 legislative elections, enters this year’s contest from a much weaker parliamentary position. Its representation fell from 125 seats in 2016 to only 13 in 2021, ending a decade during which the party occupied the center of Morocco’s government.

The PJD’s roots, however, go back several decades before it became a major electoral force. Its origins are connected to Abdelkrim El Khatib and the Popular Constitutional and Democratic Movement, which was established in 1967 following a split from the Popular Movement. The new political organization emerged during a period of intense debate over Morocco’s political institutions, constitutional order and the role of political parties.

El Khatib and his supporters had opposed the state of exception declared in 1965 and called for greater political freedoms and institutional reform. During the following decades, the party maintained a relatively limited presence in national politics while developing its own political identity.

A significant transformation took place during the 1990s as the party established closer links with Morocco’s Islamic movement. In 1996, an extraordinary congress opened the way for members and leaders of the Unicity and Reform Movement to join the organization. The move brought new figures into the party, strengthened its Islamic reference and contributed to a major organizational restructuring.

Two years later, the organization adopted its current name, the Justice and Development Party, and began using the lantern as its electoral symbol. Its parliamentary representation subsequently expanded, establishing the PJD as a growing force within Morocco’s opposition.

The party won 14 parliamentary seats following the 1997 elections and increased its representation to 42 seats in 2002. In the 2007 legislative election, it secured 46 seats and finished second nationally, remaining outside government but establishing itself as one of the country’s main opposition forces.

Morocco held early legislative elections in November 2011, following a period of regional political unrest and constitutional reform. The PJD emerged as the largest party, winning 107 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives.

The result brought the party into government for the first time. Its secretary-general, Abdelilah Benkirane, was appointed head of government and formed a coalition with several other parties. The PJD subsequently became the leading force in Moroccan executive politics, moving from a long period of opposition into direct responsibility for national policymaking.

The party maintained its leading parliamentary position in the 2016 elections. Its representation increased from 107 to 125 seats, allowing it to remain the largest party in the House of Representatives. Saad Dine El Otmani eventually became head of government in 2017 after Benkirane was unable to form a coalition under the conditions required at the time.

The second government led by the PJD continued until the 2021 legislative elections, when the party experienced a dramatic reversal.

The September 2021 vote reduced the PJD’s representation from 125 seats to just 13. The result removed it from its position as the country’s largest parliamentary force and ended its decade at the head of government.

The scale of the defeat also changed the party’s role within Morocco’s political system. The PJD moved from governing to opposition while the National Rally of Independents emerged as the largest parliamentary party and subsequently formed a governing coalition with the Authenticity and Modernity Party and Istiqlal.

The 2021 result triggered an internal reassessment within the PJD. The party returned Abdelilah Benkirane to the position of secretary-general, bringing back the politician who had led it to government in 2011. Since then, the organization has sought to reorganize its structures and strengthen its presence ahead of the next electoral cycle.

The September 23, 2026 election now provides the party with an opportunity to demonstrate whether it can regain part of the support it lost five years earlier. The PJD is approaching the campaign as an opposition party rather than as the governing force it was between 2012 and 2021.

Its campaign places considerable emphasis on economic and social concerns. Employment, purchasing power, public services, healthcare, education, social protection and government accountability feature prominently in its programme. The party has also called for institutional reforms and greater transparency in the management of public affairs.

The economic context gives these issues particular importance. Morocco enters the 2026 election with employment and living costs among the concerns affecting voters, while the government has continued to expand social protection programmes and public investment. The PJD is using the campaign to present its own proposals on how these issues should be addressed.

The party is also seeking to reconnect with younger voters, an important challenge after its sharp decline in 2021. Youth unemployment and political participation have become major themes in the current campaign, with parties competing to convince younger Moroccans that electoral politics can respond to their economic and social concerns.

The PJD’s return to the political scene is taking place within a crowded electoral field. Twenty-seven parties are competing for the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, while more than 15.8 million voters are registered. The governing coalition formed after the 2021 elections remains the main political grouping against which the PJD is positioning itself.

The party’s history gives it a distinct trajectory in the current election. It evolved from a relatively small political organization in the decades following independence into a major opposition force, then became the largest party in parliament in 2011 and 2016 before suffering an unprecedented setback in 2021.

Its current challenge is therefore different from that of its earlier campaigns. In 2011, the PJD was seeking to convert growing electoral support into government leadership. In 2016, it was defending its position as the largest parliamentary party. In 2021, it faced the loss of much of its electoral base. In 2026, its campaign is focused on rebuilding that base and restoring its parliamentary presence.

The September 23 vote will provide a new measure of the party’s position after five years in opposition. Its performance will also indicate the extent to which the PJD has been able to recover from its 2021 defeat, renew its organization and adapt its political message to a new generation of Moroccan voters.

After more than a decade at the center of national government followed by a dramatic electoral collapse, the PJD is now attempting to establish a new chapter in its political history.