Moroccan Election Candidate Arrested for Alleged Voter Bribery

7 August 2021 – bySylvanus@Bladi · 1 min read

On the orders of the Guelmim prosecutor’s office, a candidate on the list of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) for the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services was arrested and placed in custody for corruption. He is accused of having distributed money to certain voters on the day of the vote.

Following the dissemination of a video on social networks on Friday, August 6, informing that one of the candidates in the elections of the professional chambers had distributed banknotes to a group of people, the Guelmim prosecutor’s office immediately took note of it and ordered the judicial police of Guelmim to conduct an urgent investigation into this matter, announced the prosecutor of the king near the court of first instance of the city in a press release.

The RNI candidate concerned was arrested and placed in custody for corruption. The three people who appeared with him in the video were also arrested and placed in custody pending the conclusions of the ongoing investigations conducted by the judicial police of Guelmim. For its part, the regional office of the RNI issued a press release to announce the opening of an investigation into this matter. It also suspended the candidate in question.

According to the results of the elections of the professional chambers, the RNI comes first with 638 seats (28.61%), far exceeding the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (2nd, with 363 seats/16.28%) and the Istiqlal party (3rd, with 360 seats/16.14%).