Morocco’s political parties are trying to entice young voters to the polls next week with promises ​of jobs and affordable housing after violent protests last year and a border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta highlighted widespread discontent.

Uneven ‌development and continuing economic hardship among young people were seen as drivers of both events, against a backdrop of recent progress in sectors such as manufacturing, ports and railways lifting living standards in major cities.

The vote, due on September 23, is the country’s fourth since the 2011 Arab Spring protests led the monarchy to share more power with parliament before moving to reinforce its ​position.

A moderate Islamist party ran the government for about a decade but suffered a crushing defeat in the last vote five years ago, ceding ​its place to two parties founded by men close to the palace.

Those parties, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the Authenticity ⁠and Modernity Party (PAM), have both put youth employment at the centre of their campaigns, pledging to create about one million jobs over the next parliamentary term.

They ​have also touted roughly $20 billion of infrastructure investment ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, and streamed rallies on social media ​to draw the attention of young voters.

“We reject the idea that young people simply want an easy life,” the PAM’s campaign manifesto says, listing housing, regular income and “dignified work” as policy priorities.

Analysts say the challenge of engaging young voters was illustrated by deadly, Gen-Z-led protests last year, and by the massive border rush on Ceuta in July.

“The Ceuta mass migration attempt was a new ​form of social protest in which many citizens demonstrated a physical exit from Moroccan politics altogether,” said Mohamed Masbah, head of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis, ​a think tank.

–Reuters–