Celebrations as Islamist party wins most seats in elections

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• published: 30 Jul 2015
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1. Various of supporters celebrating at Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD) headquarters, AUDIO: music 2. Close-up of man singing party song and clapping 3. Zoom in on woman holding boy, singing party song ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 4. Wide of PJD supporters in moving vehicles, waving flags and honking horns 5. Tracking shot of men in back of moving vehicle, man speaking to people in street through loudspeaker 6. Various of party supporters celebrating in moving vehicles 7. Mid of two women chanting 8. Mid of people making 'v' for victory sign from vehicle, honking car horn 9. Various of people chanting and making 'v' for victory sign 10. Various of men chanting and dancing in street 11. Various of supporters in vehicles holding party placards and chanting outside Parliament building STORYLINE: Political supporters took to the streets of the Moroccan capital on Sunday night to celebrate the victory of an Islamist party in the country's parliamentary elections. The Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 107 seats in the 395-seat legislature following the nationwide vote two days earlier - almost twice as much as its nearest competitor. The king will now choose someone from the PJD - known by its French initials - to form a coalition out of the dozen parties making up the new parliament. Party supporters left the headquarters in vehicles to drive around the city, chanting the name of the party and honking horns in celebration. The PJD is the latest Islamist party to win an election brought about by the Arab Spring, following Ennahda's victory in Tunisia last month. Morocco has been swept this year by pro-democracy protests decrying lack of freedoms and widespread corruption. King Mohammed VI sought to defuse tensions by ordering a constitutional reform that gives parliament more power and moving up legislative elections by a year. Activists still called for an election boycott but slightly more people participated in Friday's election than the last parliamentary contests. The PJD has already announced it is ready to form a coalition with the "Democratic Bloc," a coalition of three parties, including the second place Istiqlal with 60 seats, the left of centre Union of Progressive Socialist Forces with 39 seats, and the former communist party with 18 seats. The alliance would give the Islamists a commanding majority of 224 seats. A coalition of eight pro-palace parties amassed only around 150 seats. In Tunisia, Morocco, and on Monday most likely also Egypt, newly enfranchised populations are choosing religious parties as a rebuke to the old systems, which often espoused liberal or left-wing ideologies. Like the Ennahda Party in Tunisia, the PJD is also from the more moderate end of the Islamist spectrum. The PJD has also avoided focusing on issues like the sale of alcohol or women's headscarves that have obsessed Islamist parties elsewhere in the region, and instead has talked about the need to revamp Morocco's abysmal education system, root out rampant corruption and find jobs for the (m) millions of unemployed. Part of the new success of Islamist parties across the region is due to the Turkish model, which is said to effectively combine modern politics and Islam. In Morocco, the PJD is widely acknowledged as being the best organised in the country, relying on grass roots networks to promote candidates rather than just enlisting prominent local figures to attract votes. But the party has had an ambivalent relationship with the activists of the pro-democracy movement. Several high-ranking party officials joined the street demonstrations and expressed their solidarity, while PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane himself warned against the protests - possibly to stay in the palace's good graces. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0611d60d00f66d2461252b127728ba95 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork