RABAT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said on Friday that he would leave politics if his party fails in the parliamentary elections.
"I led the party to win the last legislative elections and led the government for five years. If I lose this time, I would leave partisan life and maybe the political life altogether," the widely popular leader of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) told journalists after casting his vote.
Morocco's parliamentary elections are seen as a test for the popularity of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).
Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held later that year, which brought Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD to power.
PJD faces strong competition from secular opposition, especially the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).
In the local and municipal elections in 2015, PJD lost by a few votes to PAM nationally, but won almost all major cities.
Apart from the PJD-PAM duel, some analysts expect the Istiqlal Party (PI), the oldest party in the country, to do well in this election.
The polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT). The initial voting results are expected to come out late Friday night.
Around 15.7 million Moroccans are registered to vote and over 30 parties are due to take part in the election to win seats in the 395-member Chamber of Representatives, or the lower house of parliament.
Some 4,000 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the parliamentary elections in Morocco.
