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Morocco's long-ruling Islamists suffer crushing defeat to liberals
 [TIMESOFISRAEL] A Moroccan party run by a billionaire considered close to the monarchy won the most seats in legislative elections, while the Islamist party that has been in power for a decade suffered a stinging defeat, according to results announced Thursday.With nearly all the votes counted, the Interior Ministry said the National Rally of Independents, or RNI, took 97 out of 395 seats in the lower house of parliament. The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has led the government since 2011, won only 12 seats, down from 125 in the last elections in 2016. RNI leader Aziz Akhannouch — considered by Forbes to be the richest person in Morocco — called the result “a victory for democracy, its spirit and its rules.” His party has promised to create 1 million jobs to boost the economy after the pandemic, expand health insurance to all Moroccans, increase teacher salaries and provide a guaranteed pension for the elderly. Under the country’s constitution, the king appoints the prime minister from the party which wins most seats, who will then proceed to form a government. Overall, the role of lawmakers is limited by the powers of King Mohamed VI, who oversees strategic decision-making in Morocco, an important ally of the West in efforts to fight extremism and stem migration from Africa to Europe. Related: National Rally of Independents: 2021-09-05 Leading Member of Morocco's Justice and Development Party: Akhannouch Not Qualified to Be PM National Rally of Independents: 2013-10-11 Morocco King Names New Govt Ending 3-Month Drift National Rally of Independents: 2013-09-06 Morocco Islamists, Opposition in 'Deal' to End Crisis Related: Islamist Justice and Development Party: 2021-03-05 Monitoring group: School textbooks in Turkey call Jews and Christians ‘infidels’ Islamist Justice and Development Party: 2019-08-10 Belgian Teen Volunteers Fly Home From Morocco After Beheading Threat Over 'Short Shorts' Islamist Justice and Development Party: 2017-11-11 Rise in Russian, Turkish immigration to Israel bucking Western slump Posted by: Fred 2021-09-10 |
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