Islamist party taking most seats in Morocco poll
The Interior Ministry says an Islamist party is set to get first crack at forming the next government after winning the largest bloc of seats in parliamentary elections. With about two-thirds of all results in Saturday, the Justice and Development Party had taken 80 seats out of 282 so far announced. A total of 395 seats were up for grabs in the nationwide vote a day earlier.
The second place finisher, Istiqlal, was far behind with 45 seats. The elections were brought forward a year in response to a wave of pro-democracy protests known as the Arab Spring. Morocco's government said 45 percent of registered voters participated in the election, a slight increase over the previous contest in 2007. (AP)
