Moroccans voted nationwide in local elections viewed as a test for a new, pro-monarchy party that aims to boost reform and involvement in politics in the North African kingdom - despite likely widespread abstention and fears of electoral fraud.
The vote is an important milestone because town officials yield significant power and budgets in Morocco, a solid US ally viewed as among those making the largest strides toward democracy and transparency in the Arab world.
A quota has been set for women to make up at least 12 percent of candidates, which is viewed as a serious challenge for the rural, often deeply traditional areas around the Muslim country.
About 13 million people were eligible to elect nearly 28,000 town and village councillors from among 130,000 candidates fielded by 30 parties, the Interior Ministry said.
"There are big stakes for us in this election. We want to emerge as one of the top three parties," said Mohammed Benhammou, a university professor and one of the leaders of the new Party for Authenticity and Modernity, or PAM.
Benhammou says the party, created a year ago, is neither left nor right but wants to draw "all those favouring progress and economic and social reform."
The biggest challenge for all parties may be voter participation, expected to be very low.
Many voters say they've lost interest in traditional politics because they feel the administration controls all important decisions, leaving lawmakers or mayors subservient to the powers that be.
"I'm not voting until my voice actually means something," said taxi driver Brahim Kalada, adding that he was tired of electing people who then switch parties, as have many officials who recently joined the PAM.
Kalada said none of the 15 family members he lives with intended to cast a ballot. "We don't trust any of the candidates," he said.
King Mohammed VI, who came to power a decade ago, is credited with moving the country toward greater democracy and freedom of expression. But critics say the reforms he initiated are now running out of steam and that the administration has begun to backtrack on some liberties.
Khadidja Ryadi, the head of Morocco's Human Rights League, says the problem with reform in Morocco is that "it looks very good on the surface, but it isn't really carried through."
"We're not in the plebiscite era anymore," she said, referring to most of Morocco's Arab neighbours, where presidents are still routinely elected with more than 90 percent of votes amid widespread suspicions that results are fixed in advance. "But we're not a full democracy yet."
The PAM's founder, Fouad Ali El Himma, is widely known as "the king's friend" because of his reputed closeness to Mohammed VI, with whom he went to school. Many observers contend he's on a mission to renew Morocco's governing elite and revive the political debate - but within a framework acceptable to the royal palace.
Its main contenders are the governing Istiqlal nationalist party, and moderate Islamists from the Justice and Development Party, or PJD, the second largest force in parliament.
Hardline Islamists and ethnic-based movements are banned from taking part.
"The problem with these elections is that everybody is buying the votes," said PJD spokesman Moustafa Ramid, who alleged his party was the only one not to fraud. He contended the average going rate for a vote was around 200 dirham (or about US$25). "But it can reach five times that amount in hotly contested areas," he claimed.
Other parties categorically deny this. "That the PJD should lie in such a manner just shows it doesn't have any project to offer," said Istiqlal deputy leader Saad El Alami, who is also the minister in charge of relations with Parliament.
AP