Moroccan Governor Suspends Bouskoura Mayor and Officials Amid Urban Planning Scandal

In addition to the mayor of Bouskoura, three other elected officials have also been suspended. These are the first deputy mayor in charge of electrical connection authorizations and a militant of the Istiqlal party, a municipal councilor from the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and an elected member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), according to Barlamane.

The governor has merely applied Article 64 of Organic Law No. 113.14 on municipalities, which authorizes the representative of the State to refer the matter to the administrative court to request the dismissal of one or more members of the municipal council when they violate the legal requirements in terms of public management. The text also authorizes, as a precautionary measure, their suspension until the end of the litigation procedure.

The prefectural authorities would have established the existence of major irregularities in the granting of urban planning permits and in the administration of municipal tax revenues, which led to the transmission of the files to the judges of the administrative jurisdiction of Casablanca, the only competent to rule on a possible forfeiture of the mandates concerned.

The decisions of the administrative jurisdiction are expected in the coming weeks. If it confirms the grievances retained, the elected officials concerned will be deprived of their functions and prohibited from running for the remainder of the current term, in accordance with the aforementioned article.