Morocco holds its legislative by-elections

Morocco holds its legislative by-elections between Friday and Sunday with over 800,000 out of 16 million registered voters to elect seven legislators at the lower chamber of the parliament which comprises 325 members.

These by-elections cover four electoral constituencies with two targeted zones – central Marrakech and southern Safi- where four seats are up for grabs.

The Safi constituency will be contested in a list system whereas the three others are governed by the one-seat rule.

There is "not much at stake" in these polls which are held after the illegibility of the candidates that contested the September 2007 legislative elections marked by a turnout of 37 percent.

A new political party, the Party for Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) runs for the by-elections to show its "electoral potential". The PAM is led by former Home Affairs vice-minister, Fouad Ali El Himma, who resigned from his post to vie for the 2007 legislative polls and headed a list which swept all the three seats.

According to observers, the turnout during the legislative elections will serve as a telling sign about the expected turnout during the 2009 communal polls.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news