Moroccan elections

Preliminary results from Friday's parliamentary election in Morocco indicate that the moderate Islamist PJD party has won the vote. Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui told a news conference on Saturday that the PJD was on course to secure the most seats in parliament.

Yet Morocco has not gone through a revolution of the kind seen elsewhere in the region. King Mohammed has distinguished himself from other Arab rulers by recognizing early on that only through political reform could he preserve his power. In contrast to toppled dictators such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Ben Ali in Tunisia and Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, King Mohammed VI enjoys widespread respect among the Moroccan people. He is more modern than his royal counterparts in Saudi Arabia and is certainly wiser than Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Morocco has set off on a unique course compared to other nations that have been shaken to the core by the so-called "Arab Spring." Protests were violently crushed in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen while in Saudi Arabia the oil-rich monarchy has managed to buy time by lavishing its people with money. But in Morocco, the king reacted to major social challenges by making serious changes to the constitution, approved through popular referendum, and called for the people to vote in early elections.

Islamist trend

Although the Moroccan people have gone to the polls, this north African monarchy remains a long way from becoming an authentic democracy. King Mohammed VI made some changes to the constitution, but he has not had the courage to implement sweeping democratic reforms. Under the tweaked constitution, the king retains uncontested control over the military, foreign policy and the judicial system. He also arrested many democratic activists prior to the elections.

And as in Tunisia, an Islamist movement managed to gain the most votes. The Party for Justice and Development (PJD) is considered loyal to the king and relatively moderate. Morocco is another example that the influence of the "Facebook generation" has begun to fade as conservative-religious forces profit from the turmoil in the Arab world.

Voter turnout was also embarrassingly low during the election, leading to speculation that a large portion of the population either consciously or unconsciously heeded the calls of democratic and competing Islamic groups to boycott the polls. Many people do not believe that elections will do much to change the corruption, poverty, youth unemployment and lack of prospects.

More reform

Up until now, Mohammed VI has redirected popular dissatisfaction from the monarchy to the elected politicians - whether that tactic will succeed with the Islamists remains to be seen. Their moderate appearance and loyalty to the monarchy are not beyond doubt. But they won the elections. Not only the Moroccan king, but also neighboring Europe will have come to terms with them. The Islamists promised a lot during the election - now they have the chance to deliver.

The social pressure and frustration among the Moroccan people are likely to grow given the economic and social indictors, which suggest continued emigration to Europe. Over the long term, the king will not be able to get by with small reforms. He has to show more courage.

Author: Rainer Sollich / slk
Editor: Andreas Illmer