Morocco votes in first election since Arab Spring reforms Saturday, 26 November 2011 10:34

RABAT:Moroccans voted Friday in the first legislative election since the king introduced constitutional reforms in response to the Arab Spring uprisings, with an Islamist party expected to make strong gains.

The main contenders in the election, the second in north Africa since a wave of agitation roiled the region, are the moderately Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD) and a handful of liberal, secular parties.

Early Saturday, before any results had been announced, the PJD was already saying that according to the figures they had, they were well ahead -- "a tidal wave", one party leader called it -- of their rivals.

The election comes less than five months after a July referendum overwhelmingly approved a new constitution proposed by King Mohammed VI as autocratic regimes toppled in nearby Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.

Under the amended constitution some of the powers of the king, who hails from a monarchy that has ruled Morocco for 350 years, were transferred to parliament.

The prime minister must now be appointed from the party that wins the most seats in the assembly.

But the 47-year-old monarch remains the head of state and the military and still appoints ambassadors and diplomats.

Analysts said a high voter turnout would give credibility to the reforms, but initial indications were of a mixed public response to the poll.

Throughout the day commercials broadcast on television urged Moroccans to "carry out their national duty" by voting, while newscasts repeatedly explained how people could find out where their polling station was located.

Morocco's pro-reform February 20 protest movement had called on voters to boycott the elections. It says the constitutional reforms are insufficient.

Provisional interior ministry figures put the turnout at 45 percent, up from 37 percent from the last parliamentary election in 2007, but lower than the 51.6 percent turnout recorded in 2002.

"The election took place in a normal context, under a climate of mobilisation and a sense of responsibility," Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui told reporters.

Final election results will only be announced on Sunday afternoon, the minister added. The government had previously said the final results would be given on Saturday.

Opinion polls are not allowed in Morocco, but some observers said the PJD could emerge with the most votes after similar success by a moderate Islamist party in Tunisia's first democratic election last month.

Early Saturday, PJD spokesman Hassan Lamrani said: "Our party is substantially ahead of its rivals across the country."

Lahcen Daoudi, one of the party's leaders, told AFP: "We have achieved a tidal wave in all the major cities in Morocco, according to the figures we have available to us."

The PJD's main rivals are Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi's centre-right Independence party and the Coalition for Democracy, an eight-party pro-monarchy bloc that includes two of the five governing parties.

Communications Minister Khalid Naciri said: "The public powers did everything to ensure that this vote was a healthy and transparent democratic moment."

The Independence party took the most votes in the 2007 election, winning 52 seats, followed closely by the PJD with 47.

The Islamist party focused initially on social issues, such as opposition to summer music festivals and the sale of alcohol, but has shifted to issues with broader voter appeal such as the fight against corruption and high unemployment.

Morocco's complex proportional representation system lends itself to fractured parliaments and no party is expected to obtain an absolute majority on its own, so the winner will have to govern in a coalition.

In all, 31 parties are vying for the 395 seats in the lower house of parliament -- 70 more than during the last election.

Of the assembly's 395 members, 305 are elected from electoral lists put together by the parties in 92 constituencies.

The remaining 90 seats are elected from a so-called national list, with 60 seats reserved for women and the remaining 30 seats set aside for candidates under the age of 40. (AFP)