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The Cap Sud MRE Association has sent an advocacy note to Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah, secretary-general of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), outlining proposals to facilitate the participation of Moroccans living abroad ahead of the Interior Ministry’s exceptional revision of electoral rolls, scheduled to begin in June 2026.
For Moroccans residing abroad who have recently returned to the kingdom but still hold a foreign address on official documents, the association recommends accepting as proof of residence «any official document issued in Morocco within the past six months», including utility bills, residence certificates, or lease agreements.
«Before the decree is published in the Official Gazette, it is still possible to introduce a simple provision, without any legislative amendment, allowing tens of thousands of Moroccans who have returned to Morocco to finally exercise their right to vote», the letter, seen by Yabiladi, states.
In its appeal, the NGO stressed the importance of registering Moroccans living abroad on the electoral rolls in order to give the diaspora meaningful political representation.
«Moroccans who permanently returned to Morocco more than three months ago cannot register online on the electoral rolls. Their national identity card still carries a foreign address, and the online portal blocks them. They must go in person and wait for a committee. Many eventually give up. It is not the law that excludes them, but administrative rigidity», the association wrote.
To illustrate the scale of the issue, the organization cited a 2020 survey by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning, according to which «nearly 190,000 Moroccans living abroad have permanently returned to Morocco since 2000».
«This figure, which only covers the 2000–2020 period, is likely even higher today given the acceleration in returns in recent years, around 250,000 today», the letter added.
The association concluded that «these citizens are not abstaining out of disinterest», but are instead «being blocked by a procedure that does not recognize their return».
