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 near-absolute power following massive street protests brought hopes of change in the North African country.