Morocco World News with agencies
Morocco World News with agencies
Rabat, November 25, 2011
Voter turnout in today’s legislative elections in Morocco stood at 34% at 5 pm, local time, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior.
According to earlier statements by the Ministry of Interior, voter turnout stood at 4% at 10 am local time, 11,5% at noon and 24% at 3 pm. The polls will remain open until 7 pm this evening in the 38 thousands polling stations across the country.
In the last legislative elections held in September 20o7, voter turnout did not exceed 37%, the lowest voter participation in Morocco’s history.
In previous polls, voter turnout was higher in rural areas than in cities. The turnout rate provided is based on reports by prefectures and provinces across Morocco.
Over 13.4 million Moroccans are eligible to vote for the 395-seat parliament. For the first time in Morocco’s history, 60 seats will be offered to women and 30 seats to young candidates under the age of 40.
These legislative elections, held after the adoption of the new constitution last July, are overseen by 4,000 international and national observers. Observers representing Morocco’s civil society include notably the National Human Rights Council and the Moroccan (RCM) Organization for Human Rights (OHR) along with other human right groups and youth associations.
The international observers include delegations representing the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the elections network in the Arab World, Gender Concerns International (GCI) and the International Research Group for Trans-regional & Emerging Area Studies (IRGTEAS).
Analysts have concurred that there will be an intense competition between three political formations, namely the Party of Justice and development (PJD) of Islamist leanings led by Abdelilah Benkirane, the Democratic Coalition (Koutla) composed by the USFP, the PPS and the Istiqlal party of the outgoing Prime Minister Abass El Fassi and the Coalition for Democracy, the so-called G-8, led by the Minister of Economy and Finance Salaheddine Mezouar.
Unlike the Istiqlal party and the G-8 coalition, which enjoy widespread support in rural areas, the PJD has fewer sympathizers in the countryside.
Among the three favorites, the PJD is the only political party that has never participated in any government. The Istiqlal party, which won the 2007 elections, has participated in every government since the independence of Morocco in 1956.
Analysts expect that the PJD will do well in today’s elections. However, the voting system in Morocco does not allow any political parties to have an absolute majority. Even in the event that the PJD comes out as the winner of these elections, it will have to form a coalition with other political parties.
Editing by Rajaa ElAlami
