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Spotlight: Moroccans vote Friday in decisive elections for country's direction

Xinhua, October 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Some 15.7 million Moroccans are expected to head to the polls on Friday in decisive elections for the north African nation's political direction.

These elections are the second of their kind after a new constitution in 2011 brought Islamists to power for the first time in the country's history.

The country's new constitution introduced amendments that gave considerable power to the prime minister, and ensured that the prime minister is selected from the party that received the most votes in election.

The reforms also strengthened the power of the parliament, allowing it to launch investigations into officials with the support of just one-fifth of its members or to begin a censure motion against a minister with the backing of a third, rather than needing the unanimous approval demanded by the former constitution.

The ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has taken some unpopular policies in the last five years, particularly reforming the pension system and cutting subsidies on several products, faces strong competition from secular opposition.

The main opposition party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), has vowed to oust PJD from power and revise many decisions made by the government.

Therefore, the elections are seen as a test for the popularity of the Islamists and the widely popular leader Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, who said in an interview with a local news site that he would leave politics if his party fails in the polls.

In the local and municipal elections in 2015, the PJD's popularity was not affected, and the party even widened its base in urban areas to win almost all major cities. PAM, however, dominated elections in rural areas and won the elections nationally.

Apart from the PJD-PAM dual, some analysts expect the Istiqlal Party (PI), the oldest party in the country, to do well in this election.

Some 4,000 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the parliamentary elections in Morocco.

The election campaign, which was kicked off on Sept. 24, will close today at midnight. Endit