Morocco's two largest political parties cemented their standing in local elections, while a closely watched Islamic party made modest gains in the first vote since May suicide bombings by Muslim extremists.
The Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the conservative Istiqlal were the biggest winners in final results announced on Saturday. Both parties are members of the coalition government, and together, they won nearly a third of the vote.
Moroccans voted Friday on 23,689 seats for local councilors across the North African kingdom. The ballot was seen as a test of the strength of a moderate Islamic party, Justice and Development, that has gained ground quickly since its founding in 1997.
The group placed 11th out of a dizzying 27 parties in the running, according to Interior Minister Mustapha Sahel, who announced the figures. However, the showing was not seen as a true measure of its popularity.
Concerned about a growing fundamentalist presence, Morocco's government had put pressure on the party to lower its profile in the election. The party agreed and presented only 4,268 candidates -- less than 4 percent of the 122,658 candidates running.
The interior minister announced turnout of just over 54 percent, higher than expected. The rate was closely watched as a sign of whether Moroccans took seriously their government's pledge of a free and fair election.
With 3,980 seats, the conservative Istiqlal won nearly 17 percent of the vote, and should control Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and economic hub. The Socialist union took 3.373 seats, or nearly 15 percent, and is likely to hold the capital, Rabat.
The Islamic Justice and Development party, which was not present in the last local elections in 1997, made modest though significant gains. It will hold 593 council seats, or about 2.5 percent.
Justice and Development, which draws its support in impoverished urban suburbs and among university students, has rallied against the French-speaking elite, denounced rampant corruption and called for a strengthening of Arab-Muslim identity.
The party surprised Morocco last September, tripling its seats in legislative elections and taking 43 seats in the 325-seat assembly.
Moroccan authorities and the pro-government press have accused the party of "moral responsibility" in May 16 attacks in Casablanca that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.
The attacks shook this Muslim kingdom that had been spared violence despite an 11-year-old bloody Islamic insurgency in neighboring Algeria. Authorities say an international network was behind the bombings that mainly targeted Jewish and Spanish sites.
The government's investigation into the attacks showed that Moroccans from shantytowns carried out the five nearly simultaneous suicide bombings and have yet to show solid evidence of an international link.
Starting with last year's legislative election, Morocco began promising its citizens a free and fair vote. Those elections were an important step in a process of liberalization launched by King Mohammed VI after the 1999 death of his father, Hassan II.
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