RABAT, 11 September 2007 — Morocco’s nationalist party Istiqlal emerged as the surprise winner in elections with 52 seats in a vote marred by the lowest turnout ever, according to official results published yesterday. The moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) was in second place with 46 seats, followed by The Union of Socialist Popular Forces (USFP) with 38 seats, the Interior Ministry said, announcing definitive results.
“The Moroccan people recognized the achievements of the outgoing government and renewed their support,” said Istiqlal leader Abbas El-Fassi. “We are waiting for the king’s decision on who will be prime minister. We will consult with our Koutla allies.”
Istiqlal has vowed to maintain an alliance with the Socialists. Held back by Morocco’s proportional representation system of voting, no party has a majority and intensive negotiations over forming a governing coalition will now follow.
With the presence of several parties in the Chamber of Representatives, of which only eight have more than 10 seats, the task will not be an easy one. The final figures showed a record-low turnout of 37 percent, an apparent snub of a political system whose leaders are widely seen as aloof and out of touch.
Islamist PJD had hoped to take the top spot and a role in the next government. When it became clear the party would only take second place it accused unnamed opponents of buying votes to skew the results. The government dismissed the claim but said it would investigate.
“We are waiting for the appointment of the next prime minister and for his proposals. If he would invite us to be in the next cabinet, we would discuss that and decide whether to enter the government or remain in the opposition,” said Abdelilah Benkirane, PJD’s top official.
Asked about what the party would do regarding the results, he told Reuters: “If we had complaints we would go to courts. We are a party which respects law and legality and rejects any recourse to disturbance or anything like that.” The results were little changed from provisional figures released on Saturday.
The right-wing Popular Movement (MP) and center National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 41 and 39 seats, respectively, while the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Istiqlal’s main coalition partner, won 38. The parliamentary polls were the second of King Mohammed’s nine-year reign and saw 33 parties vie with dozens of independents for seats in the 325-member lower house.
A complex voting system made it almost impossible for any group to win an outright majority, and whatever the outcome, real power will remain with the king, who is executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.
Istiqlal’s Koutla alliance with the USFP and the smaller Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) won a majority of 180 seats, allowing them to stay together and form the next government.
