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afrol News, 3 October - According to election results published in Morocco, the socialist party of Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi again became the biggest party in Parliament. Mr Youssoufi probably may continue to lead his coalition government of moderate parties, even though the Islamists made major gains. Prime Minister Youssoufi's ruling Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) has won 50 of the 325 seats in Lower House of the Moroccan Parliament. The winning USFP was followed by its main coalition partner, the conservative Al-Istiqlal Party (PI), with 48 seats. Together with other coalition partners, Mr Youssoufi therefore is in a leading position to form a new government. The major coalition partners USFP and Al-Istiqlal however both lost parliamentary seats in these apparently free elections. The socialist party has 57 seats in the old Parliament and has thus lost seven. The real winners of Morocco's 28 September poll were however the Islamists. The Justice and Development Party (PJD), the only Islamic party in Parliament, won 42 seats, tripling its presence in the Lower House. The PJD thus becomes the third largest party in the next Moroccan Parliament. Islamists for the first time will be a force of political power in Morocco - whether the party will participate in government or form the principal opposition party. The Islamist victory has caused fairs the image of Morocco as the bulwark against Muslim fundamentalism in the Maghreb might be falling. Major gains for the PJD were however expected, given the general failure to develop the country, create employment and fight poverty. The modern and Western Kingdom remains the poorest country in North Africa. On this background, the Islamist gain was modest and the moderate forces - headed by the popular King Mohammed VI himself - remain in control. Neither the ruling coalition nor the Islamists were however capable of mobilising common interest for the Friday poll. Only 52 percent of Morocco's 14 million registered voters bothered to participate. For many common Moroccans, the elite of politicians has little legitimacy and is considered corrupt. To those, only the King is considered a man of honour. The first free and fair general elections in the country's autocratic history did not change this image of the political elite. Prime Minister Youssoufi's promises "to hold the first transparent elections in Morocco based on a voting by list" seem to have been lived up to. But although several new parties had been introduced before the poll, the election campaign did not address many of those issues concerning Moroccans. Radical parties were still not allowed and the on the questions of human rights, press freedom and the role of the autocratic King, the old and new political parties mostly have remained silent. Moroccan women become major winners in the elections. The King has loudly promoted women's liberation in Morocco and has demanded a higher female representation in Parliament - a demand met by many parties' nominating committees. While women only have two seats in the current Parliament, their representation now will rise to 34 seats. Morocco thus becomes the first Arab country with more than 10 percent female parliamentarians. Since independence, six legislative elections have taken place in Morocco. The last general elections were held in November 1997 "amid widespread, credible reports of vote-buying by political parties and the government, and excessive government interference," according to US government reports. The fraud and government pressure tactics in 1997 led most independent observers to conclude that the results of the election were heavily influenced, if not predetermined, by the government. Contrasting this, the 2002 legislative elections - the first under King Mohammed VI's reign - have marked major gains for democracy in Morocco. Winning under free conditions must have been the greatest and most unexpected success for Prime Minister Youssoufi's USFP party.
Sources:
Based on Moroccan govt, press reports and afrol archives
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