Upbeat Islamists see early gains in Morocco polls

RABAT, Sep 8 (Reuters) Opposition Moroccan Islamists running on an anti-corruption ticket said they were on target today to become the largest party in parliament after elections marked by a record low turnout.

''We will win, we will win!'' jubilant party workers chanted at the headquarters of the north African country's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).

''Oh God, give us the victory you promised us!'' Quoting tallies reported by the party's voting agents around the country, PJD campaign chief Jamaa Mouatassam told reporters that, with about half the votes tallied from yesterday's poll, the PJD had won about 30 per cent, the largest share of any party.

The next most popular party, which he declined to identify, was on 16 percent, according to his unofficial tally.

Political analysts say the PJD has a chance of winning cabinet seats if it emerges as the biggest party after yesterday's contest between 33 parties and dozens of independent candidates seeking seats in the kingdom's 325-member assembly.

However, a complex voting system will make it almost impossible for any group to win a majority, and whatever the outcome, real power will remain with King Mohammed, who combines roles as executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.

No official count has yet been published and final official results are not due out until tomorrow.

''We expect to win at least 70 seats,'' added Mouatassam, whose party emphasises conservative family values and ethics in public life, a message popular in lower-income urban suburbs.

The party is currently the third largest in the outgoing parliament, with 42 seats.

REFORM-MINDED MONARCH The polls are the second parliamentary vote under the reform-minded monarch, who ascended the throne in 1999 on a wave of popularity after the iron-fisted rule of his father.

He has spearheaded gradual social reforms but has kept tight control of power. He can nominate anyone as prime minister, irrespective of the election result, and his choice is expected to head a coalition composed of ministers of several parties.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa said that at 2330 HRS IST yesterday, turnout stood at 34 per cent and would probably end up at 41 per cent -- a record low and below government expectations, he said. The process had been free and fair, he added.

Political analysts say apathy is rooted in a belief that parliament is a toothless body made up of politicians from the secular-minded elite who fail to keep the promises they make to get elected.

''Morocco, like any Muslim state, has to choose Islam,'' engineer Ali Sunari, 23, said as he voted in the capital Rabat.

''All other parties have achieved nothing for us.'' In Casablanca's Escuela shantytown, housewife Minina Bneslik said: ''I voted for a candidate who helped us in the past. I hope this election will help the poor out of their misery''.

Mohamed El Yazghi, leader of the biggest single party in the outgoing parliament, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), said he believed it had increased its representation.

However, he added: ''Abstention in itself is not a good sign.'' A USFP party worker who asked not to be identified said: ''Things are not so bad, but there are difficulties.'' Foreign investors have turned to Morocco because of its social stability, determination to modernise and integrate its economy into world markets and general openness to foreigners.

Some liberals fear the PJD wants Islamic rule, but the party calls al Qaeda an ''enemy'', and some in the establishment see the PJD's moderation as a religious bulwark against jihadists.

Reuters SW GC0906