الرئيسية
An activist from Morocco's main opposition Justice and
Development Party (PJD), riding a donkey, distributes electoral leaflets
to residents of Oulmes. Moroccans go to the polls Friday in the first
legislative elections since the approval of a reform of the constitution
in July which strengthens the role of parliament and the prime
minister.(AFP/Abdelhak Senna)
By Daniel Silva, AFP
RABAT (AFP) - 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 the Arab Spring began, are the moderately Islamist
Justice and Development party and a handful of liberal, secular parties.
Opinion
polls are not allowed in Morocco, but observers said Justice and
Development could emerge with the most votes after similar success by a
moderate Islamist party in Tunisia's first democratic election last
month.
Its 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.
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.
The amended constitution gives parliament a greater say in
the legislative process and strengthens the role of the prime minister,
who now must be appointed by the king from the party which wins the
most seats in the assembly.
Turnout at 5:00 pm (1700 GMT), just
two hours before the polls closed, was 34 percent, which suggests it
will end up being higher the the 37 percent recorded during the last
parliamentary election in 2007.
Morocco traditionally suffers
from low voter turnout and this time around the pro-reform February 20
movement called for a boycott of the polls, arguing the monarch's
constitutional reforms do not go far enough.
"For the powers that
be a strong turnout in the 2011 elections would give credibility to the
constitutional reform adopted in July," said Omar Bendourou, a
constitutional law professor at Rabat's Mohamed V University.
"And it would give them some credibility, a favourable image abroad of how the kingdom responded to protests."
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 is located.
Despite the encouragement to head to polling stations, some eligible voters remained unconvinced.
"I
don't plan to vote. For me there is God, the nation and the king. And
that's all," said 45-year-old Mohamed who looks after parked cars in
Morocco's seaside capital of Rabat.
The Independence party took
the most votes in the 2007 election, winning 52 seats, followed closely
by the Justice and Development Party 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 like the fight against corruption and high
unemployment.
"I am going to vote for Justice and Development
Party. I want to see what they are capable of," said 20-year-old Fatima,
who covered her hair with a headscarf as she waited to cast her ballot
at a polling station in the Casablanca slum of Sidi Moumen.
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 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.
Of the 13.5 million Moroccans eligible for voting, over half -- 57 percent -- are 35 or younger.
Voting
stations opened at 8:00 am (0800 GMT) and close at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT)
with the first provisional official results not expected before
midnight. Final results will be announced Saturday.
