Morocco: elected officials in prison for corruption

Mohamed Talmoust, from the Democratic and Social Movement, and Abdallah Mbirik, from the Moroccan Union for Democracy, were detained in the local prison of Kénitra, while Najla Dahaji and Bouchra Bouhaddioui, from the National Rally of Independents (RNI), and Khayra Anahari, from the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), were incarcerated in the local prison of Souk El Arbaa du Gharb, reports Mohamed El Ghalloussi, president of the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Money, specifying that the accused are accused of corruption, including the distribution of gifts, bribes and promises in the perspective of the election of the new president of the Municipal Council of Kénitra.

The now former president of the municipality, Anas Bouanani (RNI), as well as his two deputies, Fatima El Azri (Istiqlal) and Mustapha El Gamah (PPS), had been dismissed in September last year by the administrative court of Rabat for mismanagement. A process has been launched to fill his replacement. Candidates still have until tomorrow, Tuesday, November 12, to file their applications. El Ghalloussi welcomes the arrest of these municipal councilors: "We hope that justice will be firm towards the people involved in corruption cases, including electoral corruption, to moralize the political field and protect the electoral process from anything that could harm its integrity and transparency."

In a post on his Facebook account, he indicated that "corruption is growing and threatens the state and society, and that real political will is necessary to break with corruption, the plundering of public funds and illicit enrichment through the exploitation of public decision-making positions".