Conservatives win Morocco polls

Morocco's conservative Istiqlal party won the most seats in parliamentary elections, allowing it to form the next government with its current ruling coalition allies, final results released showed.

Istiqlal (Independence), a ruling coalition member, won 52 seats, ahead of the opposition Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD) with 46 seats, the Interior Ministry said.

The final figures showed a record-low turnout of 37 per cent, an apparent snub of a political system whose leaders are widely seen as aloof and out of touch.

Islamist PJD had hoped to take the top spot and a role in the next government. When it became clear the party would only take second place it accused unnamed opponents of buying votes to skew the results.

The right-wing Popular Movement (MP) and centre National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 41 and 39 seats respectively, while the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Istiqlal's main coalition partner, won 38.

The parliamentary polls were the second of King Mohammed's nine-year reign and saw 33 parties vie with dozens of independents for seats in the 325-member lower house. A complex voting system made it almost impossible for any group to win an outright majority, and whatever the outcome, real power will remain with the king, who is executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.

Istiqlal's Koutla alliance with the USFP and the smaller Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) won a majority of 180 seats, allowing them to stay together and form the next government.

EU Presidency praises Moroccan election process

The EU Presidency has welcomed the manner in which Friday’s parliamentary elections in Morocco took place. In a statement, it praises the government, political parties, civil society and people of Morocco for “their efforts aimed at ensuring the success and transparency of the electoral process.”

The EU also welcomes steps taken to ensure a greater representation of women in parliament and notes the measures taken by Morocco to enable monitoring of the elections as well as the “significant involvement of Moroccan associations in the electoral process.”

“The democratic conditions in which the elections were held is a testament to Morocco’s engagement in the political, economic and social reform process initiated at the highest level of the Moroccan state in recent years,” notes the Presidency.