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Early Returns Point to Coalition Government for Morocco

by Reuters

   RABAT, MOROCCO --

   Preliminary results in Morocco's national elections showed the moderate
   Islamist Party of Justice and Development in the lead, despite
   frustration with its handling of the economy in its five years leading
   the government and a challenge from a party close to the royal palace.

   With most of the votes counted, the Interior Ministry said early
   Saturday that the PJD had won 99 seats in the Chamber of
   Representatives in Friday's legislative elections. Its closest rival,
   the Party of Authenticity of Modernity, won 80 seats, followed by
   several other parties.

   Of 395 seats in the chamber, 303 had been decided by early Saturday.
   The vote was still being tallied for two seats, and the 90 other seats
   are reserved for women and youth who will be chosen proportionally from
   the lists of the winning parties. Final results are expected later
   Saturday.

   The results suggest no single party will have a majority, meaning the
   winner will likely have to form a coalition government.

   Abdelilah Benkirane, secretary-general of Morocco's Islamist Justice
   and Development Party, speaks during a new conference at the party's
   headquarters in Rabat, Morocco, early October 8, 2016.

   An unusually venomous campaign marked by adultery scandals and an
   alleged extremist attack planned for election day preceded the
   balloting in this North African nation, which is seen as a model of
   stability and relative prosperity in the region.

   Worries about youth joblessness, high debt and Islamic extremism were
   on many voters' minds as they cast their ballots. Turnout was slightly
   lower than in the past national elections in 2011, at 43 percent.

   Reports and videos surfaced online about alleged voting violations,
   including ballot stuffing, votes casts under the names of dead people,
   and authorities blocking a road to a voting site. The Interior Ministry
   issued statements denying most of the claimed irregularities, but said
   it was investigating others. Some 4,000 Moroccan and international
   observers were monitoring the elections.

   The palace pledged to loosen control over Moroccan politics after Arab
   Spring protests five years ago, but still retains control over major
   policy decisions, prompting many Moroccans to ignore the elections
   Friday.

   Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, a doctoral candidate in political science at
   George Washington University, said "these elections, specifically,
   matter a lot ... and will show whether 2011 was just a blip on the
   radar screen" in gauging Morocco's path toward reform.

   The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings have left a mixed legacy in North
   Africa: Tunisia built a fragile democracy, Egypt elected Islamists who
   were then ousted by the military and Libya has descended into deadly
   chaos.