Testing Morocco: the parliamentary elections of September 2007

With five years having passed since the previous parliamentary elections, the Moroccan electorate went to the polls as scheduled on 7 September 2007 in order to elect the 325 members of the country's lower house. Due to the fact that during the past decade elections have grown not only more competitive, but also freer and fairer, and with the rising popularity of Islamist parties in Morocco and abroad, the 2007 elections were hotly awaited. It was widely believed that these elections would serve as a test of Morocco's democratic credentials - that they would demonstrate once and for all the commitment of Mohammed VI to the democratisation process, the stamina of the political parties vis-agrave-vis the monarchy, and the strength and true nature of the largest Islamist party, the Parti de la Justice et du Deacuteveloppement (PJD). This article argues that the overall picture that emerged was positive as fraud and manipulation were relatively minor, the country's new prime minister not only had party affiliation, but also belonged to the party with the largest share of the seats in parliament, and the PJD had proved that although the party was a force to be reckoned with, it was far from being as strong as many had believed or indeed feared.