Morocco's ruling coalition wins all 5 by-elections

Morocco's ruling coalition has won all five seats in the recent by-elections. The country's Constitutional Council had annulled the results of the November 2011 election in the five constituencies after appeals from rivals claiming religious abuse and use of illegal methods to influence voters. The five seats were shared among the ruling coalition, with Justice and Development Party, Istiqlal Party and Progress & Socialism Party winning one seat each, while the Popular Movement won two seats. Political researcher and Istiqlal Party official Boubakr Soussi told Arabstoday the result will give the ruling coalition in parliament "a minor moral boost." He added: "The complete absence of the opposition is very noticeable. Its also interesting to see the lack of coordination among the majority parties in the by-elections. Each party brought in its MPs and ministers to campaign for its candidate as if the coalition only works under the parliamentary dome."