Women take on a growing role in Morocco’s election administration

17:24

By: Azzat Manal

Women take on a growing role in Morocco’s election administration

The presence of women in Morocco’s electoral administration is showing signs of progress, according to observations by Gender Concerns International during the country’s legislative elections on September 23, 2026.

Sabra Bano, a representative of the organisation’s Gender Election Observation Mission (GEOM), highlighted the growing involvement of women in bodies responsible for managing the electoral process. She made the remarks during a visit by an international delegation to a polling station at Ibn Toufail School in Kenitra, where the mission was assessing the participation and representation of women throughout the vote.

According to Bano, the organisation observed encouraging developments during visits to several polling stations. The assessment focuses not only on women as voters and candidates, but also on their presence in the structures responsible for organising and supervising elections.

Gender Concerns International has been monitoring elections in Morocco from a gender perspective since 2011. Its GEOM missions examine the role of women at different stages of the electoral process, including their participation as voters, candidates and electoral officials. The organisation has previously conducted observation missions in Morocco in 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2021.

The 2021 mission, for example, reported a significant presence of women among voters and noted that women were also represented among polling staff, although men remained the majority in several senior positions. The mission subsequently called for greater gender balance among polling-station leadership and electoral personnel.

For the 2026 legislative elections, GEOM is again applying a methodology centred on the internal organisation of polling stations. Particular attention is being given to whether women are appointed to leadership positions and how widely they are represented among polling-station members.

The organisation’s approach reflects a broader view of electoral participation, in which women’s involvement extends beyond casting ballots. Gender Concerns International argues that the presence of women within election-management structures can provide an important perspective on the accessibility and inclusiveness of electoral processes.

The 2026 observation mission includes national and international experts deployed to follow the conduct of the vote from a gender perspective. Its findings are expected to contribute to the organisation’s broader assessment of women’s participation in Morocco’s electoral system.

The latest observations add to a longer-term record of monitoring women’s involvement in Moroccan elections and highlight the gradual changes taking place in the representation of women within electoral administration.