Constitutional Court Invalidates Two Moroccan MPs’ Elections in Driouch District

They are Abdelmonim El Fettahi and Mostafa Khalfioui, elected respectively on the list of Istiqlal and the PAM in the constituency of Driouch. According to the daily Al Akhbar, it all started with a request filed with the Constitutional Court by the former MP and former leader of the MP, Mohamed Fadili, in which he disputes the validity of the election of Abdelmonim El Fettahi.

In his petition, he points out that El Fettahi "submitted his resignation to an incompetent body, instead of the National Council, and the fact that a party leader presents his candidacy, overnight, on behalf of another formation is considered a behavior that goes against responsible participation in political life."

The Constitutional Court quickly looked into the case and came to the conclusion that "the candidacy under the colors of two parties undermines the credibility of political formations and the trust that citizens place in them." As for the invalidation of the election of Mostapha Khalfioui, it was motivated by the fact that "the report of the judicial police indicates that a criminal gang led by the deputy’s brother attacked several polling stations in the commune of Tafriste and Ifrni in the province of Driouch on the day of the September 8, 2021 vote. The assailants, who came from other regions, invaded the polling station under threat and violence to prevent voters from exercising their right to vote."

Worse still, they would have seized the phones of the members of the polling stations and would have stuffed the ballot boxes with ballots favorable to Mostafa Khalfioui. Reprehensible acts for which the accused were sentenced to prison terms by the Nador Court of Appeal on February 22, 2022.