Conservatives win Morocco polls

Rabat: Morocco's conservative Istiqlal party won most seats in parliamentary elections, setting it up for a leading role in the next government, according to final results released by the government on Monday.

Istiqlal (Independence), a member of the former ruling coalition, won 52 seats, ahead of the opposition Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD) with 46 seats, the Interior Ministry said.

The results were little changed from provisional figures released on Saturday.

The right-wing Popular Movement (MP) and centre-ground National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 41 and 39 seats respectively, while the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Istiqlal's main coalition partner, won 38.

The parliamentary polls were the second of King Mohammed's nine-year reign and saw 33 parties vie with dozens of independents for seats in the 325-member lower house.