Morocco's ruling Islamist party won most of the country's key cities during Friday's local elections, further expanding its reach after four years of leading a coalition government that undertook major fiscal reforms.

The Justice and Development Party, known by its French acronym PJD, came to power on an anticorruption ticket in 2011, tapping into a desire for greater freedom when Arab Spring protests forced King Mohammed to devolve some royal powers.

On Friday, for the first time in its history, the PJD won control of all of Morocco's major cities including the capital, Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Fez, Marrakech and Agadir.