Morocco king's victory fails to calm protesters

Rabat : Morocco's Arab Spring protesters vowed on Saturday to pursue demonstrations after King Mohammad scored an avalanche referendum victory on constitutional changes they say do nothing to ease his tight grip on power.

Preliminary results of Friday's poll showed 98.5 per cent of voters approved the text on turnout official estimated at 73 per cent. Opposition said the turnout figure looked inflated and alleged irregularities in voting procedures.

The charter explicitly grants executive powers to the government but retains the king at the helm of the cabinet, army, religious authorities and the judiciary.

The result followed a state media campaign in favour of the ‘yes' vote that appealed to a widespread sense of loyalty to the king.

"Tomorrow we will see how people react," a coordinator of the February 20 movement said of rallies called by the group on Sunday.