Casablanca , Morocco ( CNN ) -- A moderate Islamist party appears to be heading toward victory as votes are counted in Morocco 's first parliamentary elections since constitutional reforms in the summer . The Justice and Development Party ( PJD ) won at least 80 seats , Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said Saturday , with at least 288 seats out of 395 counted . The party 's secretary general Abdelilah Benkirane said the party had won more than 100 seats . Even the lower figure of 80 would give the PJD more seats than any other party , according to the Moroccan government 's website . The next biggest winner was the Independence Party , with 45 seats , that website reported . The number of parties involved in Morocco 's multi-party system means no single party is likely to win a majority of the seats , so a coalition government would have to be formed . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered her congratulations Saturday `` on the successful completion '' of the elections . `` The United States stands ready to work with the new parliament and the people of Morocco to strengthen the rule of law , raise human rights standards , promote transparent and accountable governance , and work toward sustained , democratic reform , '' she said . Turnout in the North African country was 45 % , the Interior Ministry said Friday . The National Democratic Institute -- which had 41 accredited observers from 21 countries that went to over 200 polling stations on Friday -- said in a press release that the elections `` were conducted transparently . '' The voting process was described as `` technically sound '' and `` without fear of tampering or procedural violations . '' But one institute member , Canadian Liberal Party leader Bob Rae , also pointed to the turnout and a number of invalid and spoiled ballots as negatives . `` Seeing the number of people who actively spoiled their ballots as well as those who did not participate , it is clear that the path to real change will take more effort and time , '' Rae said . Lise Storm , senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter in England , said Friday that the outcome might signal whether the population is happy with the monarchy or not . The more votes for the PJD appear to indicate a desire for greater change , she said -- as opposed to votes for the bloc of traditional loyalist parties , which would suggest voters favor the status quo . Under the new constitution , approved by referendum in July , both Parliament and the prime minister have greater powers , while the monarch 's sway has been slightly lessened . The changes mean the prime minister must now be chosen from the party that wins the greatest number of votes -- which , based on the preliminary results , would be the Justice and Development Party -- rather than King Mohammed VI selecting his own nominee for the job . The reforms came after thousands of Moroccans took to the streets to demonstrate earlier this year , inspired by what became known as the Arab Spring . The youth-based February 20 Movement called for jobs and an end to corruption its members say stems from royal cronies . Analysts say economic reform is needed to create more jobs for the country 's young people , particularly many university graduates who are unemployed . Journalist Aida Alami contributed to this report .
Turkey : The ruling Justice and Development Party wins more seats than any other party . NEW : Observers called the elections transparent , while faulting the relatively low turnout . NEW : Hillary Clinton congratulates Morrocans on the ` ` successful '' elections . Constitutional reforms were approved by voters in June .