A moderate Islamist party has won the most seats in Morocco's parliamentary election, giving it the right to lead a coalition government for the first time.
The Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 107 seats in the 395-seat assembly in Friday's polls, the interior ministry said on Sunday. It had 47 seats in the outgoing assembly, making it the main opposition party.
"This is clear victory but we need to form an alliance to work together," party leader Abdelilah Benkirane told AFP after the final results were released.
Under a new constitution proposed by King Mohammed VI in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings that was approved in a July referendum, the monarch must now choose a prime minister from the winning party instead of naming whoever he pleases.
The king, the latest scion of a monarchy which has held its position for 350 years, proposed changes to the constitution that curb some of his near absolute powers as autocratic regimes toppled in nearby Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and pro-democracy protests brewed at home.
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"We are going to wait for King Mohammed VI to nominate a prime minister before we start talks with other political parties," added Benkirane.
