RABAT (Reuters) ? Morocco's moderate Islamist PJD party is on course to win a parliamentary election, partial results showed on Saturday, in what would be the second victory for Islamists in the region in the wake of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.
Incomplete results from Friday's vote indicate that the PJD will lead a coalition government in partnership with the secularist party of the outgoing prime minister and two other groups.
Tunisia, birth-place of the Arab Spring, sent ripples through the Middle East last month when a moderate Islamist movement won the country's first democratic election.
Morocco has not had a revolution of the kind seen elsewhere in the region, with its ruler, King Mohammed, still firmly in charge.
But he has pushed through limited reforms to head off a revolt, and the PJD has benefited from a resurgence for Islamists sweeping the region.
The party has said it will promote Islamic finance though it will steer clear of imposing a strict moral code on society and is loyal to the monarch.
Announcing the partial count from Friday's election, Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui told a news conference the PJD was on course to be the biggest contingent in parliament.
With results known for 288 seats in the 395-seat parliament, the PJD had 80 seats, said Cherkaoui, whose ministry organized the election. The Istiqlal party, headed by outgoing prime minister Abbas Al Fassi, was in second place with 45 seats, he said.
Asked if his party was willing to form a coalition with the PJD, Al Fassi told reporters: "Yes, yes. The PJD's victory is a victory for democracy."
The partial count gives the PJD, Istiqlal and two smaller parties -- which said before the election they would govern as a coalition if they won -- a total of 170 seats in parliament, just short of a majority.
Their rivals, a grouping of eight liberal parties with close ties to the royal palace, lagged behind with about 112 seats, according to the partial vote.
"TEMPLATE" FOR ARAB MONARCHIES
Under new rules introduced earlier this year as part of a package of constitutional reforms backed by the king, the biggest party in parliament nominates the prime minister.
Morocco's election is being closely watched by other Arab monarchies for clues on how to respond to the "Arab Spring" without relinquishing their hold on power.
Morocco says it can serve as a template for a gradual approach to reform, instead of the convulsions seen in countries like Libya and Syria.
Since his enthronement in 1999, King Mohammed has won international praise for his effort to repair a dark legacy of human rights abuses under the 38-year rule of his father King Hassan. The reform drive of his earlier years in power has lost momentum in the last few years.
When demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring flared in February, he revived the reform process with constitutional amendments that took much momentum out of the protest movement.
He ceded some of his powers to elected officials, while keeping the final say on issues of defense, national security and religion.
But there remains a vocal minority who say his reforms are not enough. Thousands of people joined protests in several cities last weekend to back calls for a boycott of the election.
(Writing by Christian Lowe and Souhail Karam; Editing by David Cowell)
randall cobb packers score google x lisfranc injury lisfranc injury ronan ronan
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.