International News

RABAT (APP/AFP) – The Islamist Justice and
Development Party (PDJ), which has headed Morocco’s coalition
government for the last five years, came top in parliamentary
polls on Friday according to provisional results released by
the Interior Ministry.
The Islamists took 99 seats while the the liberal
opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) took 80,
with 90 percent of the vote counted.
Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for
independence from France, came in third place with 31
seats, followed by a number of smaller groups.
Participation was at 43 percent, or roughly 6,750,000
voters, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said during a
press conference in the capital Rabat.
He said the election was “transparent” and had gone
well, rejecting accusations from the PJD earlier in the day
of voter fraud being carried out by authorities in favour of
its liberal rivals.
Full results will be announced on Saturday but the PJD
already has a comfortable lead and seems highly likely to head up
the next government.