Moroccan RNI announces candidates for the 2026 legislative elections

Friday 05 June 2026 - 14:17

With just months to go before the legislative elections scheduled for September 23, 2026, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) has taken a decisive step in its electoral preparations. On Friday, June 5, 2026, in Rabat, the party unveiled the official list of its candidates for the various constituencies across the Kingdom.

The announcement was made during a press conference at the party’s central headquarters, chaired by its president, Mohamed Chaouki, who presented the figures who have received the RNI’s investiture for the upcoming electoral term.

This announcement follows several months of internal consultations and work by the party’s national elections commission, led by Saad Berrada. This body reviewed candidacy applications and evaluated them according to organizational and political criteria aimed at strengthening the party’s presence across the national territory while ensuring a balance between experience and renewal.

During the presentation of the lists, Mohamed Chaouki emphasized that the RNI had ensured it translated its commitments to youth, the promotion of women, and the renewal of political elites. He indicated that the rate of candidate renewal had reached 36%, one of the highest recorded by the party in recent years.

The lists notably include four female candidates in local constituencies as well as twelve representatives of the party’s youth wing. This direction aims to inject new dynamism into the future Parliament while preserving the gains derived from the political and managerial experience accumulated by the party’s cadres.

Among the figures invested are several sitting ministers, former government members, party officials, and parliamentarians holding important positions within national institutions.

The party thus announced the candidacy of Karim Zidane in the Youssoufia constituency, Ahmed El Bouari in Ouazzane, Lahcen Saadi in Taroudant North, and Mustapha Baitas in Sidi Ifni.

The lists also include Mohamed Chaouki in the Boulemane constituency, Rachid Talbi Alami in Tétouan, Yassine Oukacha in Benslimane, and Mohamed Sadiki in Berkane.

The candidacies cover all regions of the Kingdom, including Rabat, Salé, Kenitra, Casablanca, Fez, Meknes, Marrakech, Agadir, Laayoune, Tangier, Tétouan, and Al Hoceima. This distribution is part of a strategy to consolidate the party’s position among the country’s main political forces.

One of the most striking elements of this announcement remains the absence of Aziz Akhannouch’s name among the candidates invested for the 2026 legislative elections. This absence constitutes one of the most commented-upon political facts of this electoral preparation, given the central role played by Aziz Akhannouch in leading the party and his accession to the head of government after the 2021 elections.

The RNI, however, specified that the investiture process was not yet fully completed in certain constituencies. Three seats are still awaiting final validation, particularly in the constituencies of Guercif, Oujda-Angad, and Nador, where administrative and organizational procedures are still ongoing.

By unveiling its lists several months before the vote, the National Rally of Independents is demonstrating its desire to approach the electoral campaign with advanced preparation and strengthened organization. The party intends to combine continuity and renewal through a mix of experienced figures and new profiles tasked with carrying its political project forward in the legislative elections of September 23, 2026.

As the electoral deadline approaches, these investitures appear as an indicator of the RNI’s strategy to maintain its central position on the Moroccan political chessboard and to meet the challenges of a vote that promises to be decisive for the future of the national partisan landscape.