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Morocco's ruling Islamist party advances in regional, municipal elections

Xinhua, September 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

After counting 81 percent of the ballots in Morocco's regional and municipal elections, the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) advanced by four places, ending second after Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won 20.77 percent of the ballots.

According to the preliminary results, which were announced early Saturday by the Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad, the PJD moved from the sixth place in the previous local elections in 2009 to the second place with 17.17 percent of the ballots.

As for the voter turnout, it stood at 52.36 percent, almost identical to the turnout figures at the 2009 elections, when the voter turnover reached 52.4 percent.

Nearly 30 parties competed for 31,503 local council seats and 678 regional council posts.

A total of 4,000 observers, including 76 belonging to international organizations, have been accredited to oversee the elections.

Analysts see the elections as a real testing ground for the governing coalition and a practice run for the 2016 parliamentary polls.

Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held late that year, which brought Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) to power. Endit