Moroccan centrist party tops parliament vote after boost from football chief

By Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A liberal, centrist party ‌founded by an adviser ​to Morocco's king ​came out on top in parliamentary elections after a late boost from the man credited with leading the national football team to global fame, early results showed on Thursday.

The vote is not expected to fundamentally change the political balance in the country, a ‌constitutional monarchy where the king retains sweeping powers over foreign policy, defence and other key portfolios.

But the incoming parliament will ⁠shape the government overseeing the last stages of a $20-billion push to get ready for the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain.

It will also implement economic policies aimed ‌at addressing widespread youth discontent, an issue ‌highlighted by a mass border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year.

FOOTBALL CHIEF SEEN AS STRONG PM CANDIDATE

The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) — which was the second-largest member in the outgoing coalition — moved up to the top spot, bolstered by the recruitment ​of Fouzi Lekjaa, Morocco's football federation chief and two-time government budget manager, who joined weeks before the vote.

Lekjaa is widely seen as the driving force behind the rise of Morocco's football team to international fame and overseeing investments in 2030 World Cup infrastructure.

He is now seen as a strong potential ⁠candidate for prime minister, who is selected by the king from the winning party.

PAM's current leader, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, is another potential candidate for head of government.

PAM was created in 2008 by an ​adviser to the king and has since positioned itself as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) by advocating social modernisation and secular-leaning views.

It campaigned on promises of spending $37 billion to create 1 million new jobs and ​make new investments in healthcare, education, social protection and better wages.

The party took 97 ‌seats in the 395-seat parliament — up from the 87 it secured in the last vote in 2021, according to the results, delivered by Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit in a news briefing.

Its coalition partner in the outgoing government, the National Rally ⁠of Independents (RNI), lost its leading position and came second, according to the provisional tally.

During the campaign, PAM had ruled out staying in a coalition with the RNI — the two had traded blame over policy shortcomings including a failure to halt rises in food prices.

But Mansouri said on Thursday she would have no "red lines" when it came to negotiations. "We have ⁠turned the page," she said.

ISLAMISTS REBOUND, CHOOSE OPPOSITION

The conservative nationalist Istiqlal Party secured 65 seats and the Islamist PJD rebounded to 54 seats, from only 13 in the previous election, ​buoyed by the return of party leader Abdelilah Benkirane, a former prime minister.

After the vote, Benkirane said the party would stay in opposition."The PJD won seats largely thanks to Benkirane’s powerful oratory, which turned his party into a strong contender against the PAM, especially in urban areas," economist and political analyst Rachid Aourraz said.

“In an unstable region, the ‌vote reflects a relatively stable Moroccan political system where Islamists can lose and win without affecting political stability,” said Mohammed Masbah, head of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis think tank.

The Islamist party headed Morocco's government for two five-year ‌terms after a new constitution was adopted in 2011 in the wake of the "Arab Spring" protests, which led Morocco's monarchy to share more power with parliament, but lost heavily ⁠in the last election.

Three leftist parties took smaller shares of ‌the seats.

Turnout, closely watched as an indicator of ​trust in elected institutions, fell to about 38% from around 50% in the previous elections five years ago, when the moderate Islamist PJD party in power for a decade was dealt a crushing defeat.

(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by Alexander Dziadosz ‌and Andrew Heavens)

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