Nabil Benabdallah says PPS to decide parliamentary position after internal talks

Saturday 26 September 2026 - 15:15

The Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) is keeping its options open after Morocco’s 2026 legislative elections, with Secretary-General Nabil Benabdallah saying the party will wait for its internal institutions to determine whether it joins the next government or sits in opposition.

The PPS won 19 seats in the new House of Representatives, while the Left Alliance secured eight, according to provisional results announced by the Interior Ministry.

Speaking in Rabat on Friday, Benabdallah said the party’s position would not be decided by him personally. The political bureau is expected to meet on Monday, after which the party’s central commission will have a role in determining its final position.

A decision reserved for party institutions

Benabdallah has stressed that the PPS needs to assess the post-election landscape before taking a position on the next government.

Rather than announcing a preferred alignment, the party leadership is preparing to examine the available options collectively. The secretary-general said his personal view would not determine the party’s final decision.

The approach marks a cautious opening phase for the PPS as political parties begin positioning themselves following the September 23 legislative vote.

PPS raises possibility of a left-wing parliamentary bloc

Alongside the question of government participation, Benabdallah has highlighted another possibility: closer parliamentary coordination with the Left Alliance.

The idea would be to bring the PPS and the two parties belonging to the alliance together within a common parliamentary group, potentially creating what Benabdallah described as a broader left-wing parliamentary front.

For now, however, the proposal remains under discussion. Benabdallah said there had been no direct contact between the PPS and the two parties of the Left Alliance on forming such a group.

He said the party had learned through media reports that there was interest in establishing a left-wing group in the House of Representatives and potentially developing it into a broader parliamentary front.

The proposal also revives an idea that the PPS had promoted before the elections, when efforts to bring left-wing forces together did not result in a unified electoral arrangement. Earlier in 2026, the party publicly argued for greater coordination among left-wing formations.

Government participation remains unresolved

The possibility of joining the next governing majority remains another issue for the PPS leadership.

Benabdallah recalled that his party had spent the previous five years firmly opposing what it described as the government’s political approach. He argued that any decision to participate in a future government would therefore have to be considered in light of the policies and practices that such a government intends to pursue.

The PPS had already indicated before the election that its position on possible alliances would depend on political and programmatic conditions. In September, Benabdallah had also ruled out a coalition with the RNI if that party were to lead the next government.

Following the election, however, the party has not yet formally chosen between government participation and opposition.

Election campaign draws criticism over programme debate

Benabdallah also used his press conference to reflect on the electoral campaign.

He argued that substantive discussion of party programmes had been limited, with only a handful of issues dominating the political debate. In his view, this left insufficient space for broader discussion of the competing economic, social and institutional proposals presented to voters.

He also pointed to the substantial resources deployed by some political parties during the campaign and contrasted this with the number of citizens who ultimately participated in the vote.

Official provisional figures put national turnout at 38.08%, with the Interior Ministry reporting nearly six million voters.

A new parliamentary phase for the PPS

The PPS enters the new parliamentary term with 19 seats, placing it among the smaller parliamentary groups in the 395-member House of Representatives. The Left Alliance holds eight seats.

For the party, the coming days will therefore be focused on internal deliberations as well as the broader question of cooperation among left-wing forces.

The political bureau’s expected meeting on Monday should provide an initial indication of the direction being considered, while the final decision will depend on the party’s institutional process.

For now, Benabdallah has kept the PPS’s parliamentary alignment open, leaving both government participation and opposition as options while the party evaluates the political landscape created by the 2026 election.