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Moroccan king names Benkirane to 2nd term as prime minister

Moroccan king names Benkirane to 2nd term as prime minister | iNFOnews.ca
A Moroccan woman casts her ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Amid worries about jobs and extremism, millions of Moroccans voted Friday in parliamentary elections that will determine whether moderate Islamists will keep control of the government or lose power to a young rival party close to the powerful royal palace.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

RABAT, Morocco – Moroccan King Mohammed VI has named Abdelilah Benkirane to a second term as prime minister after his Islamist Party of Justice and Development beat out a secular party close to the royal palace and 26 others to win legislative elections.

The palace said in a statement that the king met with Benkirane on Monday and asked him to create a government, according to the state news agency MAP. The PJD will have to form a coalition government because it didn’t win a majority in Friday’s elections.

The PJD has had a spotty economic record and its main rival accuses it of turning a blind eye to rising extremism. But it remains popular after rising to power following 2011 Arab Spring protests calling for less royal control over politics.

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