Morocco elections – results imminent

Moroccans voted Friday to elect a new parliament, five years after an Islamist-led government took office following Arab Spring-inspired protests that toppled regimes across the region.

The vote pitted the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) against the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which says it wants to roll back the “Islamisation” of Moroccan society.

But whatever the result, the real power will remain in the hands of King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years.

Two hours before polls closed at 1800 GMT, the interior ministry put turnout between 25 percent and 38 percent.

First results are expected late Friday and Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad was expected to address reporters at midnight (2300 GMT).

The PJD meanwhile issued a statement saying it was “very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities” in favour of the PAM, and called on the interior ministry to “urgently intervene”.

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun declined to comment but said that his party had filed “50 complaints” of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

Local media said that a PJD candidate had been attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat.

It also reported that the PJD filed a complaint after a video was shared on social networks showing a man stuffing votes in a ballot box.

Throughout the day the interior ministry issued statements reporting minor incidents, including one in which a cart had blocked the entrance to a voting station.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane acknowledged some disturbances but told Telquel online website he felt positive.

“I continuously receive complaints from our candidates but it is nothing serious and I remain serene and confident,” he said.

Early turnout was low in Rabat with many people waiting till after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

Meriem, a voter in her 40s, said after casting her ballot in central Rabat: “I came to carry out my duty as a citizen. Our Morocco needs a healthy democracy.”

To make life easier for the illiterate, who make up a third of Morocco’s population, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel.

“No one, really no one, can say or predict… who will win tonight,” said analyst Abdellah Tourabi, adding however that the PJD was the “favourite” to clinch the election.

The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy.

A new constitution transferred some of the king’s powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

While in government, the PJD passed a controversial reform of the retirement system and followed a relatively liberal economic policy.

Its task has been complicated by the unstable world economy and a drought this year that hit Morocco’s vital agricultural sector and sent growth plummeting.

The party has been weakened by rising unemployment and what critics say is a failure to make good on promises in 2011 to tackle corruption.

It has also faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a “sexual position” on a beach.

The opposition PAM, formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, hopes to take advantage at the polls.

Headed by Ilyas El Omari, it has poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government’s economic record as “catastrophic” and pledging to roll back the “Islamisation” of society.

The PAM, which wants to legalise cannabis, aims to bring more women into parliament, where they hold just 67 out of 395 seats.

Several parties have fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

Around 16 million Moroccans were eligible to vote. Turnout will be a key factor, after it reached only 45 percent in the November 2011 polls.

A list system and an electoral threshold that has been halved from six to three percent could hand small parties a key role in forming the next government.

The PJD and the PAM have ruled out joining forces in a grand coalition.

Under the 2011 constitution, the king appoints a prime minister from the biggest party in parliament once the election results have been announced