The ruling Socialist Union of Popular Forces, and its allies, have won Morocco's elections. However, Islamists have emerged as a major political force. Nicole Choueiry reports from Rabat Click to view caption Last week's parliamentary elections saw Prime Minister Abderahman Yousoufi's ruling Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) score a major victory, after winning 50 parliamentary seats. The USFP was followed closely by its ally, the conservative Al-Istiqlal Party (PI), with 48 seats. However, Islamists were the major gainers, jumping from 14 to 42 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, and triggering fears that Shari'a might be applied in the modern kingdom. The National Independent Rally, Morocco's fourth largest Party, will have 41 seats in Parliament, which is elected for a five-year term. Speculation had mounted on how the USFP, which leads the centre-left coalition government, would fare amid anticipated Islamist popularity and an overall low voter turn out. Only 52 per cent of Morocco's 14 million registered voters headed to the polls on Friday. Abstention is attributed to disenchantment with the outgoing government's performance and a lack of confidence in Morocco's political system. Women were the other major gainers at the elections. They entered Parliament with 34 new seats. They had only two seats in the previous government. This gives them more than 10 per cent of Parliament's 325 seats, a first in the Arab World. Although additional time will be needed for any new government to take shape, the leading socialist Party is likely to head any new coalition. The prime minister will be appointed by the king in a few weeks, following extensive political bargaining. "We are not enthusiastic at all about being part of any socialist government," said Abdelilah Benkiran, a deputy of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), and one of the founders of the Party. "We could be part of a PI- led government or at least support it," he added. The PJD, which preaches a Shari'a-based programme, said it won't be part of any USFP-led coalition. The Party, created in 1999, advocates a total ban on alcohol, segregated beaches for men and women and the establishment of Islamic banking. The group has built a power base through its social and charity work among underprivileged groups. Around 30 per cent of Morocco's population of 30 million live on less than one dollar per day. "The PJD could have come out with a sweeping victory had it been allowed," political analyst Moti Monjeb said. "However, there were many factors that prevented this." One of these reasons, he said, was that the PJD was not ready to govern on such a large scale yet. He added that the PJD wanted to avert a showdown with opposition from secular and moderate Parties. This would have caused a dangerous imbalance in Morocco's mixed political fabric. "The consecration of a powerful Islamist trend would have also disenchanted Morocco's Western allies and aid donors, especially France and the US," said Monjeb. However, PJD officials have been playing down fears about fundamentalist rule, "we do not want to apply what is inapplicable," said Benkirane. "We merely want to protect what is already there." "These are things that are governed by rules. These rules are included in a system," Benkirane said referring to the Shari'a. "Everyone knows the problems of Morocco. But each [Party] uses a different approach to treat them. People voted for us so that we would solve their problems," he added. The final results were only made public on Tuesday, after being postponed twice due to the "complexity of the counting process", according to Interior Minister Driss Jettou. However, independent observers believe the delay was necessary to engineer moderate results so as not to cause a stir among the population and maintain a natural balance of power. Prior to the elections, the government had launched an aggressive campaign to encourage people to vote in what it described as "the most transparent and fairest elections since independence from France in 1956." The elections are the first to be held under the reign of reformist King Mohamed VI. Out of the 26 Parties vying for seats, only 22 won any seats at all. The largest Islamist opposition group, the banned Al-'Adl Wal Ihsan (Justice and Charity), boycotted the elections. Had it been authorised, the Party would have scored a sweeping victory among voters, observers say. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher "lauded" the elections and underlined his country's interest in the ongoing democratic process in Morocco, while France gave special recognition to the Moroccan authorities action to guarantee the transparency and honesty of the polling. Morocco's last legislative elections were held in 1997, under King Hassan II, amid allegations of vote-rigging and rampant fraud. "No one can blame Morocco today for failing to respect the principles of democracy, the results of the polling boxes or the free choice of its people, here or abroad," said Jettou on Monday.
