Morocco decided on Friday to keep its clocks at summer time around the year, abandoning winter time which would have come into effect at the weekend.
The government said Morocco would "maintain summer time to avoid repeated changes during the year and... repercussions at several levels", the official news agency MAP reported.
A government official confirmed to AFP that the transition to winter time will not take place. The North African state was due to switch on Sunday, from its current time of GMT+1.
Avoiding the switch saves "an hour of natural light" and reduces electricity consumption, said the administrative reform minister, Mohammed Ben Abdelkader, quoted by MAP.
The European Union said at the end of August that it will recommend the bloc's member countries abolish the twice-yearly clock change.
Proponents of the change say that the move will save energy
Those that want to abolish daylight savings say the energy-saving benefits, which were key to the time changes in the 20th century, are no longer relevant.
"Newer studies confirm that the energy savings are nowadays marginal," said commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic.
"We are clearly heading toward smart cities, smart buildings and smart solutions which will bring much more savings than changes of the clock."
