Morocco Islamists 'poised for election gain'

Rabat: Moroccans voted yesterday in parliamentary polls expected to show gains for moderate Islamists pushing an anti-corruption message to voters seeking more vigorous efforts to fight poverty.

From the slums of Casablanca near the Atlantic to the sweltering Saharan villages in the south, some of the 15 million registered voters began choosing from 33 parties and dozens of independent candidates seeking seats in the 325-member assembly.

"Morocco, like any Muslim state, has to choose Islam," engineer Ali Sunari, 23, said as he voted in the capital Rabat. "All other parties have achieved nothing for us."

In Casablanca's Escuela shantytown, housewife Minina Bneslik said: "I voted for a candidate who helped us in the past. I hope this election will help the poor out of their misery."

Stress on values

Analysts say the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) has a chance of winning cabinet seats if it emerges as the single biggest party.

PJD leaders say they aim to win up to 80 seats, a big rise from their current strength of 42.

The party emphasises conservative family values and ethics in public life, a message popular in lower-income urban suburbs.

PJD leader Sa'ad Eddine Othmani predicted the group would emerge as the single biggest force in parliament. Speaking to reporters as he cast his ballot in Sale town, a PJD bastion, he told reporters: "We will win. PJD will be the first party." Asked what he would do if his prediction turned out to be correct he said: "We will decide later."

But a complex voting system will make it almost impossible for any group to win a majority.

Some liberals fear PJD wants Islamic rule, but the party calls Al Qaida an "enemy", and some in the establishment see PJD's moderation as a religious bulwark against jihadists.

Architect Jamal Sellawi, 31, said he voted for the leftist Union of Socialist Popular Forces (USFP), a member of the secular ruling coalition, to try to block an Islamist advance.

"I don't trust Islamists ... Islamists' experience with politics have all been a failure and brought bloodshed and chaos in most Muslim countries."

Mustapha Mehnina, a 27-year-old unemployed man in Escuela slum, said: "I cast my ballot paper out of national duty but I have no hope this election will bring change."

Foreign investors have turned to Morocco because of its social stability, determination to modernise and integrate its economy into world markets and general openness to foreigners.