Moroccans go to the polls in the first legislative elections since the approval of a reform of the constitution in July which strengthens the role of parliament and the prime minister.
The election comes less than five months after a new constitution which had been proposed by King Mohamed VI as regimes in neighbouring countries were being swept away by the Arab Spring uprisings. It was approved in a July 1 referendum.
The amended constitution gives parliament a greater role in the legislative process and strengthens the role of prime minister, who now must be appointed by the king from the party which wins the most seats in the assembly.
Morocco's complex proportional representation system lends itself to fractured parliaments and no party is expected to obtain an absolute majority on its own. The winning party will have to govern in a coalition.
