Morocco's ruling Islamists are in need of a new ally after their main coalition partners made good on their threat to quit the government, raising the possiblity of early elections.
The Party of Justice and Development (PJD) shot to power for the first time after triumphing in parliamentary polls held in 2011 as one of the democratic measures offered by the monarchy in response to Arab Spring protests sweeping Morocco.
But key coalition partner, the nationalist Istiqlal Party, which held several ministerial portfolios including education and the economy, said in May that it planned to resign over the PJD's failure to shore up the economy and solve pressing social problems.
It finally did so after the return from a private holiday in France of King Mohammed IV, who had urged the party to go back on its decision.
On Tuesday, five out of six Istiqlal ministers submitted their resignations barring education minister Mohamed El-Ouafa who held on his portfolio forcing the party to suspend him, party spokesman Adil Benhamza told AFP.
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