| Supposedly, moderate Islamists. Uh-huh. |
FEZ, Morocco (Reuters) - When asked who will get his vote in Morocco's parliamentary elections next month, 70-year-old Mohamed Mahbou looks up from his game of cards and anger flashes in his eyes. "In my life I voted many times. I no longer have confidence in any of the parties," he said.
Mahbou grew up in the labyrinthine medina of Fez where he had a small business selling fritters. When buildings in his neighborhood began to crumble, the council rehoused the inhabitants in a distant suburb. He says he now earns about 3-1/2 dirhams ($0.42) per day hawking cigarettes in the neighborhood of Hay A'ttaj, where poverty and unemployment are rife and mounds of rubbish lie uncollected in open spaces.
Embittered by unfulfilled promises, Mahbou has decided to vote in September 7 parliamentary elections for a party that has avoided grand promises -- the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). "At least they are frank and realistic," he says. "They've made no promises but the only person who defends our cause, the miserable life we are leading, is (PJD deputy Lahcen) Daoudi." |