Morocco votes after a summer of Gen Z protests and a migration surge toward Spain's Ceuta enclave
Moroccans went to the polls this week in parliamentary elections that followed a summer marked by Gen Z-led protests over public services and a surge in migration toward Ceuta, Spain's North African enclave, where Spanish police have moved to clear beach encampments as crossings rose. The vote became entangled with both currents: young voters were courted through football-themed campaigning — aided by the backing of the country's football federation chief — and anti-Israel rhetoric, while migration and youth discontent shaped turnout. Provisional results put the governing, business-aligned Authenticity and Modernity Party in the lead, suggesting continuity in Rabat's economic policy even as the protests exposed frustration with the government's handling of public services. For Spain and the EU, the outcome matters beyond Morocco's borders: Rabat's cooperation, or lack of it, on migration control from its coast has long been a hinge point in Europe's Mediterranean border policy.
