Morocco’s Election Season Kicks Off Early with Eid al-Adha Sheep Giveaways

Bad habits die hard. While Eid Al-Adha (July 21) coincides with the premature start of the election campaign, many election professionals are active on the ground to capture the electorate. To achieve their ends, they have quickly concluded contracts with sheep breeders to distribute the livestock to their client-voters, reports Assabah. They are already listing their client-voters through intermediaries.

Associations close to the PJD, parliamentarians, politicians and municipal presidents are seizing this opportunity to collect donations in order to offer the Eid sheep to underprivileged families. But this practice raises a problem of legality. It is known to all that the collection of donations is governed by a law on public generosity that requires prior authorization from the governor or wali. A favor is only granted to public utility associations: they are not required to receive the authorization issued by the local authorities to distribute donations.

According to the leader of a political party, the legislator had framed the collection of money for charitable actions to prevent it from being diverted to other personal or collective purposes. The appeal to public generosity is subject to an authorization application procedure that must be filed with the General Secretariat of the Government, in accordance with the aforementioned law, we are told.