Sunday November 27, 2011

I've Been Thinking:

Morocco held an election on Saturday and The Party for Justice and Development (PJD) won the plurality. That means it won more votes than any other party, but not a majority. Now they need to form a coalition in order to rule.

There are about 33 million people in Morocco. 13 million are registered to vote and 45% of that group actually voted. In other words, about 6 million came out to the polls.

The PJD is an Islamic party. In all likelihood they will join with the left wing socialist party and two other parties in the current ruling coalition.

Bottom line: those who voted the Islamic line hoping for an Islamic state, will be disappointed.

For Moroccans in general the results of this election mean that there is virtually no chance to solve their country's 30 % unemployment and their huge deficit. It means that the 8.5 million Moroccans, 25% of the country, now living in abject poverty will continue to live in abject poverty.

Morocco now joins Tunisia as the second Muslim country to elect an Islamic plurality. These elections do not portend well for change. At best, there will be no impact on the lives of the voters, at worst - well, let's just hope for the best.

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