Moroccans prepare to for parliamentary poll

Moroccans are preparing to vote in a parliamentary election.The poll in the north African kingdom has been brought forward in response to the Arab Spring uprisings.It is the first since the introduction of a new constitution, proposed by King Mohammed VI, was approved by a referendum in July.It is expected to be a close contest between a moderate Islamist opposition party and a new coalition of liberals with close ties to the royal palace.Both parliament and the prime minister will have greater powers under the new constitution.The prime minister must now be appointed by the king from the party which wins the most seats in the assembly.However, the king still has the final say on issues of defence, security and religion.Polling stations are due to open at 0800 (0800 GMT) and close at 1900.The BBC's Nora Fakim, in Rabat, says that these polls are seen as a test of the king's response to the Arab Spring, and his gamble of ceding some of his powers to elected officials.But, she says, turn-out is expected to be low, with little political campaigning and even less excitement on the streets.The pro-reform February 20 movement, responsible for the protests staged just before the king announced his plans to reform the constitution, has called for a boycott of Friday's election.Some voters said they would not vote as they had little faith that it would change anything."I am not going to vote and I say it with my head held high," Aicha, a housewife in the mountain village of Tiddas, told AFP.The 2007 elections, the first with widespread international observation, had just a turnout of just 37% and some fear it could be even lower this time around.The moderate Islamists of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), say they believe they can take the largest share of seats, hoping to replicate the success of moderate Islamists in Tunisia who won an election last month.But the country's communications minister has said that outcome of the election was "open"."The strongest party will not capture more than 16-18% of the vote. The formation of a [government] majority will be tough and it is hard to make predictions," Communications Minister Khalid Naciri told  BBC