فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Abdelouafi Laftit, Morocco’s Minister of the Interior, said that updating electoral rolls and aligning them with the actual composition of the electorate is a pivotal step to ensuring the success of the upcoming legislative elections, safeguarding their integrity and transparency, and boosting voter turnout.
Speaking during the weekly oral question session at the House of Councillors, Laftit explained that proper preparation of the electorate was among the key issues raised during political consultations related to preparations for the 2026 electoral framework. These consultations were conducted in line with the King’s high directives and with the participation of leaders of political parties.
Comprehensive cleansing of current voter rolls
The minister noted that the consultations underscored the need for a thorough cleansing of existing electoral rolls and for improving registration conditions to guarantee the soundness of the electoral process. In response, the ministry committed to continuing the purification of the rolls during the ongoing annual review, alongside adopting special measures to ensure the success of registration during the extraordinary review preceding the vote.
In this context, Laftit revealed that the Interior Ministry’s competent departments carried out in-depth computerized processing of the electoral rolls at the central system level, drawing on additional data sources. This made it possible to identify a number of potential irregularities.
Most of these cases, he said, relate to changes in voters’ actual place of residence between municipalities or districts—whether declared or not—as well as issues linked to population mobility, rehousing programs for residents of slums, neighborhood restructuring, and the emergence of new residential areas.
Material errors, deaths, and loss of eligibility
The minister also pointed to other cases involving clerical errors in names or national ID data, records of deaths for which notifications were not received in a timely manner, and instances of loss of voting eligibility due to legal or judicial impediments.
Laftit stressed that local administrative authorities have been instructed to conduct a meticulous and comprehensive review of electoral rolls within their territorial jurisdiction, while strictly adhering to the principle of registration based on actual residence, taking into account the legal exceptions applicable to Moroccans residing abroad and to nomadic populations.
In the same vein, he emphasized that the removal of voters’ names is carried out only after verifying their definitive and actual departure from the municipality or district concerned, reaffirming the commitment to protecting registrants’ rights and ensuring they are not affected without a legal basis.
He commended the efforts of the administrative committees—chaired by judges—across the country, highlighting that the roll-cleansing process was carried out independently of any pressure linked to the electoral calendar.
Extraordinary review to engage young voters
Regarding the upcoming extraordinary review, Laftit explained that its primary objective is to enable as many unregistered citizens as possible—especially young people—to join the electoral rolls, as part of a broader effort to widen participation in the forthcoming elections.
He added that the operation will follow a clearly defined timetable, to be set by a ministerial decree published in the Official Gazette before its launch. The decree will specify deadlines for submitting registration requests, whether in person or via the dedicated online electoral platform, as well as dates for administrative committee meetings, periods for judicial appeals, and the deadline for finalizing the rolls approved for voting.
The Interior Minister concluded by confirming that the official announcement of the dates and deadlines for the extraordinary review will be made in the coming weeks.
Source: Fes News Media
