Morocco World News with Agencies
Morocco World News with Agencies
Rabat, November 27, 2011
The final results of the legislative elections held on Friday 25 November are due to be released on Sunday at 5pm (17GMT). The provisional results announced on Saturday by the Minister of Interior, Taeb Cherkaoui, showed that the moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) is poised to emerge as the winner of the elections with a large margin over its rivals.
Out of the 288 seats whose results were confirmed on Saturday, the PJD is credited with 80 seats, far ahead from other parties. The Istiqlal and the Group of Democratic Coalition (G-8) led by Salahedine Mezouar, outgoing Minister of Economy and Finance, whom many before the elections, considered as a front-runner for Prime Minister. According to partial results, this grouping obtained 112 seats, which signals their dwindling popularity among voters.
On Saturday, sources of the PJD confirmed to Morocco World News’ head of office in Morocco, Yassmine Zerrouki, that the moderate Islamist party might obtain between 100 and 120 seats, which is a far cry from their score in 2007, when they obtained only 47 seats and settled for the second position after the Istiqlal party, which obtained 53 seats.
In the 1997 elections under the rule of late Hassan II, the PJD obtained 7 seats. In the first elections held under the rein of Mohamed VI in 2002, it obtained 42 seats.
The interior ministry is scheduled to release final election results on Sunday at 5 pm (1700 GMT).
The PJD will have to form a coalition with other parties in order to put in place a new government.
In an interview with the TV station 2M, Abdelilah Benkirane said that his party “is ready to form coalitions with the parties of the Koutla” (an alliance composed of the Independence Party, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Progress and Socialism Party). He added that “the party remains open to other political parties, save for one political party with which we had big differences”, in a reference to the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM).
A few hours after the announcement of the victory of its party, Abdelilah Benkirane conveyed reassuring messages to both Moroccans and Morocco’s Western allies.
In response to a question raised by the Al Arabiya correspondent regarding the possibility of imposing the veil or Nikab on women, the Secretary General of the PJD said: “We will do so if we want to totally fail.” He went on to say that “we will not interfere in people’s choices. We will not impose the veil on any woman, if we are serious about success.”
In another press conference, Benkirane said that his party will uphold Morocco’s longstanding relations with the US and the EU. “What we claim, today, is to work together, in a democratic way, within the framework of balanced ties,” he said.
Sources of the PJD confirmed to our correspondent in Fez, Nidal Chebak, that Abbelilah Benkirane is due to hold a press conference at the headquarters of the party at 6.30 pm (18.30GMT) and it will be broadcast on the party’s website (http://www.pjdfm.com/).
