Islamists win most seats in Moroccan vote

The victory for Morocco's Justice and Development Party came a month after Tunisia handed power to a previously-banned party of moderate Islamists. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is also expected to do well in an election starting Monday.

PJD, which will get its first chance to head a coalition government, has said it will promote Islamic finance but steer clear of imposing a strict moral code on a country that depends on tourism.

The party, whose deceased founder was a physician of King Mohammed's grandfather, is loyal to the monarchy and backs its role as the supreme religious authority in the country.

PJD won 107 seats in the 395-seat parliament, according to results from the interior ministry carried by the official MAP news agency.

Three parties from the secularist Koutla bloc, with which the PJD wants to form a coalition, won a total 117 seats, the results showed.

Koutla includes the Istiqlal Party, of outgoing Prime Minister Abbas Al Fassi, Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and Socialism and Progress Party (PPS). The three parties won 60, 39 and 18 seats respectively. Istiqlal headed the incumbent coalition.

Ruler King Mohammed is expected to pick a prime minister from PJD's ranks next week, with its secretary general Abdelilah Benkirane touted for the job.