Justice and Development Party of Morocco Behind in Elections
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Partial results reveal the National Rally of Independents (RNI) surpasses the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).
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More than half of the voters participated in the elections
Moroccon election results have shown the National Rally of Independents' party may have the final winning vote.
According to the Interior Ministry, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 97 of 395 seats, while the Justice and Development Party (PJD) lost a staggering 113 seats.
The Authenticity and Modernity Party won second place with 82 seats, while the Istiqlal party finished last with 78 seats.
The election turnout was 50.35 percent, according to the Minister of Interior, in contrast with the 43% turnout in the previous elections 5 years ago.
The PJD's loss comes as a surprise since it has continued to see progressive results since its participation in the first parliamentary elections in 1997.
The party (leader of the outgoing government coalition) said that "mass violations" took place in the early hours of the Moroccan elections, which started on Wednesday.
Secretary-General of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, Abdel Latif Wehbe, accused the RNI of flooding the voting area with money, a claim the RNI denied.
The Minister of Interior confirmed on Wednesday that the election took place in normal circumstances, emphasizing full integrity for the confidentiality of the voting process. In the coming days, King Mohammed VI is anticipated to pick a prime minister from the RNI who will succeed Saad Eddine El Othmani and form the next 5-year government.
It is noteworthy to mention that this is the first simultaneous parliamentary and municipal elections launched in Morocco, in which 17,983,490 (out of about 36 million people) have the right to vote. The voters cast their ballots in 92 electoral districts distributed over the kingdom's 12 governorates.
