Morocco:Morocco's conservative Istiqlal party won most seats in assembly polls according to results issued at the weekend, but opposition Islamists said they had been robbed of victory by vote-buying.
Provisional tallies showed Istiqlal (Independence), a nationalist grouping dating from Morocco's struggle for independence from France, won 52 seats, ahead of the Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD), who had 47 seats.
Whatever the final outcome of the poll, real power in the country of 33 million people will remain with King Mohammed, who is executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.
The elections were orderly and professional but marked by isolated irregularities, an international team of observers said.
While the vote was characterised by "strict transparency and professionalism", the low turnout showed the need for further work to entrench representative democracy, the observers added.
Washington is looking to the polls for evidence that its campaign for democracy in the Middle East and Africa is helping to undermine support for Islamic militancy.
Morocco has seen less of the kind of unrest that besets neighbouring Algeria, where violence broke out in 1992 when military-backed authorities scrapped elections that an Islamist party was set to win.
- (Reuters)