Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 125 seats in Friday's parliamentary election with rivals Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) winning 102 seats, and conservative Istiqlal party securing 46 seats, according to the interior minister citing final results.

The vote for the 395-seat parliament was a test for Morocco five years after the king devolved some powers to ease protests for change. A tight result means coalition-building for the PJD to form a new government will be complex. </s> Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting till after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots. By Fadel Senna (AFP)

Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist party which has headed Morocco's coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago has beaten liberal rivals in parliamentary elections, results showed Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

In any case, the real power will remain in the hands of King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said that the election was "transparent" and had gone well, rejecting accusations of voter fraud from both sides.

The PJD had earlier issued a statement saying it was "very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities" in favour of the PAM, and called on the interior ministry to "urgently intervene".

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun declined to comment but said that his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

An Islamist candidate was attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat, according to local media.

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported.

Participation was at 43 percent, or roughly 6,750,000 voters, Hassad told a press conference in the capital Rabat.

Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting until after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

Meriem, a voter in her 40s, said after casting her ballot in central Rabat: "I came to carry out my duty as a citizen. Our Morocco needs a healthy democracy."

To make life easier for the illiterate, who make up a third of Morocco's population, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel.

The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy.

A new constitution transferred some of the king's powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

While in government, the PJD passed a controversial reform of the retirement system and followed a relatively liberal economic policy.

Its task has been complicated by the unstable world economy and a drought this year that hit Morocco's vital agricultural sector and sent growth plummeting.

The party has been weakened by rising unemployment and what critics say is a failure to make good on promises in 2011 to tackle corruption.

It has also faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a "sexual position" on a beach.

The opposition PAM, formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, had hoped to take advantage in the polls.

Headed by Ilyas El Omari, it has poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledging to roll back the "Islamisation" of society.

Several parties fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

The PJD and the PAM have ruled out joining forces in a grand coalition.

Under the 2011 constitution, the king appoints a prime minister from the biggest party in parliament once the election results have been announced. </s> Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, secretary general of the Justice and Development Party, waves during a party meeting in Rabat, Morocco, on Thursday (Reuters photo)

RABAT — Morocco's ruling Islamists have beaten their liberal rivals in parliamentary elections five years after sweeping to power following Arab Spring-inspired protests, results showed on Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395 in Friday's polls, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

The PJD's rise to power in 2011 after King Mohammed VI relinquished some of his powers following street protests brought hopes of change in the North African country.

The PJD was the first Islamist party to win a national election, and the first to lead a government, albeit with coalition partners after failing to win an outright majority.

Observers from the Council of Europe who monitored Friday's vote said it was organised "with integrity and full transparency".

But the delegation said it "regrets that the current voters' registration system and the awareness campaign have not produced a turnout higher than in 2011, particularly among young voters".

It also noted "the surprisingly high amount of spoilt ballot papers" and said there were reports of "electoral fraud" although members of the delegation did not witness any wrongdoing.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad rejected accusations of voter fraud from both sides. He said turnout was 43 per cent.

On Friday, the PJD and the PAM traded accusations of vote irregularities, while the media reported that a video shared on social networks had showed a man stuffing a ballot box.

Apart from the two main parties, Istiqlal, which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

Nine other parties also won seats, including the National Gathering of Independents which took 37 and the Federation of the Democratic Left which clinched two.

A statement by the PJD said the Islamists were “very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities” in favour of the PAM and urged the interior ministry to intervene.

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun said his party had filed “50 complaints” of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

The head of the European observers team, Ian Liddell-Grainger, told a news conference he was confident that the interior ministry had done a good job.

“I don’t feel that at any stage the ministry interfered,” he said.

To make life easier for the illiterate, who make up a third of Morocco’s population, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel.

The PJD clinched 12 more seats in parliament than in the 2011 election, which was held after a new constitution transferred some of the king’s powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

The king is expected to appoint a new prime minister from the biggest party in parliament — a task which could again fall to Benkirane.

 Over the past five years his PJD has been weakened by rising unemployment and plummeting growth while critics said it failed to make good on promises to tackle corruption.

The PJD also faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a “sexual position” on a beach.

The PAM, formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, had hoped to take advantage in the poll and despite coming in second place more than doubled the number of its seats in the future parliament.

Headed by Ilyas El Omari, it has poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government’s economic record as “catastrophic” and pledging to roll back the “Islamisation” of society.

The PJD and the PAM have ruled out joining forces in a grand coalition. </s> Morocco's ruling Islamists have won the country's parliamentary elections, official results showed Saturday. Some 43 percent of the North African kingdom's 15.7 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Friday's parliamentary vote, which was only the second election since constitutional reforms were instated to quell the street protests that erupted during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

The moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 125 of the 395 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, whereas the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) came second with 102 seats, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

The conservative Istiqlal (Independence) Party has come in third with 31 seats, Interior Minister Mohammed Hassad told reporters. This means no party will win a clear majority, setting the stage for a ruling coalition.

So far, the PJD's signature achievement is the passage of a controversial reform of the retirement system while following a relatively liberal economic policy.

"Today democracy won," Prime Minister Benkirane said as the results started to come in. "After leading the government for five years, after implementing reforms, after its achievements, after carefully managing the budget and reforms with the retirement fund ... after widening health care coverage, after all of this - thanks be to God - today, the Moroccan people have given the PJD a victory."

Islamists gaining strength?

Some parties have fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

The PAM poured enormous resources into a campaign criticizing the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledged to roll back the "Islamization" of society and legalize cannabis.

The government said the vote was fair, though there have been allegations of irregularities from all sides. PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun told reporters his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities in the port city of Tangiers.

Local media also reported a violent incident in which an Islamist candidate was attacked and wounded outside a polling station in the capital, Rabat.

The religious PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from Morocco's monarchy. A new constitution transferred some of the king's powers to the elected parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD won the 2011 election, and he was appointed premier by the king. In five years, he has pushed economic reforms to reduce the deficit and tackle subsidies

jar, shs/rc (AFP, dpa) </s> Rabat (AFP) - Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has headed a coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago, has won parliamentary elections, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD secured 125 seats against 102 for its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, the ministry said after all ballots were counted. </s> Moroccan Prime Minister and Secretary General of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, addresses a press conference in Rabat, on October 7, 2016. By Fadel Senna (AFP)

Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist Justice and Development Party, which has headed Morocco's coalition government for the last five years, came top in parliamentary polls on Friday, according to provisional results released by the Interior Ministry.

The Islamists took 99 seats while the the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party took 80, with 90 percent of the vote counted. </s> NOUAKCHOTT - Mauritanian voters went to the polls Saturday in the country’s first election without an incumbent presidential candidate since the 2008 coup.

Polling stations closed at 7 p.m. across the Sahara Desert nation, and preliminary results are expected late in the evening.

Though voters were mobilized for these elections, seen as significant in the country’s democratic history, many are wary that the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which earlier this year refused appeals to employ foreign observers, may not hold fair elections.

American embassy staff were among those in Nouakchott surveying polling stations across the capital.

“We’ve got 10 teams who have been out ever since the polls opened at 7 this morning, doing observations in various polling stations throughout the city,” U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania Michael Dodman told VOA.

“We’ll wait and see what the results are, we’ll wait and see what the experts … have to say. And we just hope that it all moves forward peacefully, quickly, and that this transfer of power really is a positive step for Mauritanian democracy,” he added.

Along with American embassy staff, local observers went to polling stations across the capital Saturday.

Local lawyer Fatimata M’Baye told VOA that she noticed some irregularities, namely that some voters were turned away and were told they needed to provide their voter registration number and not just an identification. M’Baye says that these numbers are only available online, and some people were unable to retrieve them in time to vote.

“I think these are questions that should have been addressed before election day,” M’Baye said, adding that she thinks the issue is more negligence by the CENI as opposed to obstruction.

“I think that in the future, the CENI needs to be much better prepared to allow the Mauritanian people to vote in peace,” she said.

According to a Gallup poll, 64% of Mauritanians do not have faith in the honesty of the elections.

When asked who they believe will win the election, many voters VOA spoke with in Nouakchott preceded their answer with “If the state doesn’t cheat. ..."

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is stepping down, as is mandated by the constitution, after his two five-year terms. His ruling Union for the Republic (UPR) party has put forth former Defense Minister Mohamed Ould Ghazouani as its candidate.

Opposition candidates say that Ghazouani would not affect any change from the last administration -- change they say is desperately needed.

“I think there needs to be a true changeover, because the state today of my country is catastrophic. The economic situation is extremely serious, as are our societal problems,” Sidi Mohammed Ould Boubacar, a former prime minister and leading opposition candidate supported by the Tewassoul party, told VOA.

Boubacar is one of five opposition candidates running to replace the UPR. Other candidates include well-known anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who has promised a national inquiry into the country’s cases of modern slavery.

The country’s last elections in 2014 were heavily criticized for being unfair and were boycotted by many opposition parties. Then-incumbent President Aziz won by 84%.

Mauritania has had five military coups since it gained independence from France in 1960. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Albania's Socialist Party is set to win a majority in parliament following Sunday's election, a partial vote count showed, empowering them to push economic and judicial reforms vital for membership of the European Union.

TIRANA: Albania's Socialist Party is set to win a majority in parliament following Sunday's election, a partial vote count showed, empowering them to push economic and judicial reforms vital for membership of the European Union.

The Socialists of Prime Minister Edi Rama campaigned to get a mandate that would help them ditch smaller parties and govern alone.

The number of Socialist lawmakers in the 140-seat parliament could rise to 76 compared to 66 in 2013, when little less than half the votes were counted by 1 p.m. on Monday.

"According to all data, we shall be in the driving seat," Rama told his candidates for parliament in a message soon after polls closed on what was the hottest day of the year so far in Albania. On Monday morning, he called the vote "an unfinished masterpiece".

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha issued no immediate comment after his party was seen gathering 28 percent of the vote, or 40 seats in parliament.

Voter turnout at 44.9 percent was one the lowest rates since Albania ditched communism in the early 1990s, probably due to the heat and the end-of-Ramadan celebration observed by Muslims who account for 60 percent of the population.

Prime Minister Rama and opposition leader Basha had postponed the election by a week after they reached a deal to end a 90-day opposition protest in exchange for letting the opposition into government to prevent election fraud.

Some 400 international observers closely watched Sunday's vote, keen to see Albania will bury its image of violent and contested elections. Despite minor incidents, voting appeared generally peaceful and the count progressed slowly but calmly.

The Interior Ministry, however, said hundreds of cases of vote buying and intimidation of voters had been reported. The Socialists and the smaller Socialist Integration Movement (SIM) kingmaker party accused each other of buying votes, intimidating opponents and causing scuffles among their supporters.

International observers were due to hold a press conference later on Monday to give their assessment on whether elections had been free and fair.

Implementing sweeping judicial reform aimed at rooting out widespread graft will be a priority for the next government as it seeks progress towards joining the European Union.

Rama said last month Albania could get a green light for formal EU talks to start at the end of this year.

"The election campaign was really peaceful and civilized from both sides; they both made only peaceful statements. With peace everybody is a winner," Daut Lumeni, a pensioner, told Reuters Television. </s> Mauritania's ruling party candidate Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, a former general and defense minister, won the country's presidential election with 52% of the vote, the electoral commission announced Sunday.

Ghazouani's nearest rival, prominent anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, came in second with 18.58% of the vote. Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar, who is backed by the country's biggest Islamist party, came in third with 17.87%.

As Ghazouani won an absolute majority in the first round of the presidential election, the top two contenders will not face off in a runoff election.

Earlier on Sunday, Ghazouani declared himself the winner of the Saturday polls. Mauritania's government also declared victory for the former general and congratulated him.

Opposition candidates reject results

Speaking at a news conference with three other candidates, Boubacar said that "multiple irregularities ... eliminated any credibility" of the election in the West African desert nation.

"We reject the results of the election and we consider that they in no way express the will of the Mauritanian people," he said, vowing that the opposition would use "every legal means" to challenge them.

Opposition candidates had earlier said they would contest the results if the ruling party won the first round of the election outright.

"This seems like a coup d'etat," Abeid said at a press conference, representing himself and the other opposition leaders. "We are united and will lead the contestation [of the results]."

Watch video 02:00 Share A peaceful transfer of power in Mauritania? Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3KrdN A peaceful transfer of power in Mauritania?

Favored candidate

Voters in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania went to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president as Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz prepares to step aside after serving two five-year elected terms.

Some 1.5 million people in the West African state were entitled to vote in the presidential election.

Economic issues dominated the election campaign, with the outgoing president largely credited with stabilizing the country after seizing power in a 2008 coup. Abdel Aziz was later elected as president in 2009 and 2014 in a vote boycotted by the main opposition parties.

Read more: Mauritania poll returns incumbent as opposition boycotts vote

Abdel Aziz backed Ghazouani, who was heavily tipped to win the presidential election.

Located on the northwest African coast, Mauritania gained independence from French rule in 1960, but unelected military governments largely ruled the country in the decades to follow.

Anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid said he might contest the results

Continuity and security

Gilles Yabi, the founder of the West African think tank WATHI, told Reuters that if Ghazouani secured a victory, he would probably carry forward his predecessor's policies, but Yabi added: "Ghazouani is someone who is very discreet. It could well happen that the change is not merely cosmetic."

Ghazouani once headed the country's domestic security service and was chief of staff to Abdel Aziz from 2008 to 2018.

Read more: Mauritania votes in controversial constitutional referendum

The favored candidate campaigned on themes of continuity, solidarity and security.

"There are only two choices — either going backwards, towards extremism, waste and instability, or your candidate, who will continue what has been achieved to build a stable and developed state," the 62-year-old told his supporters on Thursday.

Decline in attacks

A Western ally, Mauritania had been in the grip of extremist violence until recently. In the past few years, the government has been able to bring down the levels of conflict.

Al-Qaida documents seized from Osama bin Laden's hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad indicated that the Islamist group had discussed a possible peace deal with Mauritanian authorities in 2010, a year prior to bin Laden's killing by US forces.

Authorities denied that such a deal existed and claimed that intelligence work and the rehabilitation of imprisoned jihadis caused a decline in Islamist attacks.

Read more: Mauritania journalist sentenced to death for apostasy

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Born into bondage Schweda was born a slave in Mauritania's north-eastern Sahara along with her brother, Matallah. Overcoming virtually insurmountable odds, Matallah succeeded in freeing her and her nine children from slavery in March 2013.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Gritty capital Twenty-five years of drought have transformed Mauritania from a nomadic to an urban society. The transition has not been easy, and with an unemployment rate of 40 percent, many Mauritanians survive on less than one dollar a day.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Making do Shantytowns have sprung up on the outskirts of Nouakchott, where many former slaves, and those who left the drought-ridden countryside in search of opportunity, build homes from scrap metal and other found items.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Nationwide repression Slavery in Mauritania is not unique to the countryside. Mbarka was born into slavery and lived her life serving a wealthy family in Nouakchott. She was freed in 2011 with the assistance of well-known anti-slavery activist Biram Abeid and IRA, the abolitionist organization he leads.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Bringing freedom Messaoud Boubacar (left) of the anti-slavery NGO SOS Esclaves was instrumental in the freeing of Matallah (right) and the subsequent liberation of his sister and her nine children. Both are members of a 'slave caste,' known as the Hratine, and are descended from black African ethnic groups along the Senegal River who were subjugated by white Arab Berbers.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion 'Slave caste' The Hratine often suffer from discrimination as they are at the very bottom of the social and economic ladder. There are no reliable figures for the number of Hratine. Human rights groups estimate that 10 to 20 percent of Mauritania's 3.5 million people are slaves.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Fatherless society "In slavery fathers are irrelevant, their presence is not a factor," says Massaoud Boubacar of SOS Esclaves. "There is no role for the father, because the master owns the women, and when the women give birth the master owns the children, which he might sell or do with as he pleases."

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Seeking justice Eleven year-old Yarg (right) is one of the very few former slaves in Mauritania to have successfully had his former master convicted for the crimes committed against him. The man was sentenced to two years in prison for a crime that should have resulted in a five-to 10-year-minimum sentence.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Poverty gap Mauritania is one of the richest countries in West Africa in terms of fish stocks and mineral wealth, but the riches earned from these resources have not been shared by the general populace.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Struggle for survival Matallah's family - here his wife and child - live in grinding poverty, like many Hratine and former slaves. Despite the challenges, they have retained their dignity and an uncommon positivity that a brighter future may be in store for them. Author: Robert Asher and Safa Faki, Nouakchott



rs,shs/jm (Reuters, AFP)

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Voters in Morocco go to the polls for a general election with the ruling Justice and Development Party winning the most seats.