European elections : Two candidates of Moroccan descent become MEPs

On Monday, several European countries unveiled vote results after the European Elections took place on Sunday, May 27.

In France, far-right party National Rally, headed by Marine Le Pen, topped vote in EU elections, securing 23 seats. Europe Ecology-the Greens, won 13 seats behind the coalition led by La République En Marche! (23 seats).

Moroccan candidate Mounir Satouri from Europe Ecology-the Greens became a Member of the European Parliament. Born in 1975 in Morocco, the Casablanca-native left the Kingdom when He turned 16 to settle down in Ile-de-France.

«He was a very active student, he is also an activist, fighting against nuclear energy and defending human rights», said the party in a short biography of Satouri. The French-Moroccan politician joined the Greens in 2001 before running for local elections in 2008 and in 2010.

Another EU candidate of Moroccan descent is Dutch politician Malik Azmani who was elected as an MEP, Sunday. Azmani heads the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which won three seats in EU vote, ranked fourth behind Democrats 66, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the Party for Freedom.

Azmani was born on January 20, 1976 in Heerenveen to a Moroccan father and a Dutch mother. From 2014 to August 2018, Malik Azmani was chairman of the European Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives.