King Muhammad VI

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed awarded the foreign and justice ministries Tuesday to the moderate Islamist party that won a November election but reserved the domestic security portfolio for a veteran conservative close to the monarch. Abdelilah Benkirane, leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), will head up Morocco's first Islamist-led coalition government after his party won 27 percent of parliamentary seats in the November 25 vote. The king brought forward...Read Full Story

PAUL SCHEMM Associated Press RABAT, Morocco The dominant showing by an Islamist Party in Morocco's parliamentary elections, according to partial results, appears to be one more sign that religious-based parties are benefiting the most from the new freedoms brought by the Arab Spring. Across the Middle East, parties referencing Islam have made great strides, offering an alternative to corrupt, long serving dictators, who have often ruled with...Read Full Story

Click here for original article King Mohammed VI of Morocco was in the fishing port city of M’diq Wednesday where he laid a foundation stone for a social center and launched the renewal of the city’s landscape. The 550 square meter social center is exclusively for the local fishermen and will have social assistance, counseling, literacy and awareness raising courses to them. It will cost 4 million dirhams and will be funded by the King Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity. Next, the...Read Full Story

RABAT ( Reuters ) - Moroccan authorities should stop harassing people campaigning for a boycott of parliamentary elections this week, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. The New-York based organization said Moroccan police had brought in more than 100 people for questioning about the distribution of pro-boycott leaflets or other efforts to urge voters not to cast a ballot on Friday. "The rate of voter participation will be closely watched because it is seen as a gauge of public enthusiasm...Read Full Story

RABAT ( Reuters ) - Morocco's moderate Islamist PJD party is on course to win a parliamentary election, partial results showed on Saturday, in what would be the second victory for Islamists in the region in the wake of the "Arab Spring" uprisings. Incomplete results from Friday's vote indicate that the PJD will lead a coalition government in partnership with the secularist party of the outgoing prime minister and two other groups. Tunisia , birth-place of the Arab Spring, sent ripples through...Read Full Story