Sweltering heat as Moroccans head to polls for referendum

Moroccan authorities have urged voters to back the reforms Sweltering under a scorching sun, voters lined up outside a school in Morocco's biggest city Casablanca on Friday to cast their ballots in the country's referendum. As the midday sun reached its peak, voters waited patiently in Sidi Moumen, a poverty-stricken shanty town known as the home of extremists who carried out 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca that left dozens dead.
"I came here of my own accord, without any pressure, to vote 'yes' and answer the king's call," local resident Halima Zaidi said after voting for a new constitution proposed by Morocco's King Mohammed VI last month following pro-reform protests.
Another voter -- a woman enveloped in a traditional Islamic burqa -- said after casting her ballot that voting was a civic duty.
"I prefer not to say whether I voted for or against this constitution. I voted with my conscience. The main thing is that I voted," she said.
Nearby, residents sheltered from the heat in the shade of cafe terraces, waiting to join Friday prayers later in the day.
In Casablanca's wealthier district of Anfa, voters were lining up outside a newly-built school to cast their ballots.
"The 'yes' side will win the referendum. We must now build a real democracy and more social justice," said voter Aziz Daouj.
In the capital Rabat, turnout appeared low at a polling station in a school in the Hassan district early in the day, but a local official said they expected more voters to show up later.
"We are expecting more people after Friday prayers, when the heat diminishes," said one of the officials managing the polling station.
By noon, after four hours of voting, turnout was at 26.2 percent, the interior ministry said.
State television showed voters casting ballots across the country, including a line of police officers following their commander into a polling station to vote.
Mohammed VI was also shown on television casting his ballot, dressed in traditional Moroccan robes and wearing a red Fez hat.
Accompanied by his brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, the king voted in the capital's Souissi district, making no public statements after casting his ballot. As he left the polling station, vote officials rushed to kiss his hand.
Under the draft constitution, the king would remain head of state, the military, and the Islamic faith in Morocco, but the prime minister, chosen from the largest party elected to parliament, would take over as head of the government.
Analysts say there is little doubt voters will approve the new constitution, with the only question whether turnout will be high enough to ensure the referendum's credibility.
Mohammed VI, who in 1999 took over the Arab world's longest-serving dynasty, offered the reforms after the youth-based February 20 Movement organised weeks of pro-reform protests that brought thousands to the streets.
The reforms fall short of the full constitutional monarchy many protesters were demanding and the movement has urged its supporters to boycott Friday's vote.
Preliminary results are expected late Friday or early Saturday.