Morocco: Ministers accused of clientelism as the 2026 elections approach

Aziz Akhannouch’s government is accused of clientelism. "A senior minister, whose department oversees several government sectors and whose party aims to be the top finisher in the next 2026 elections with the goal of leading the World Cup government, is said to have assured several young men and women of occupying high-level positions within his department," reveals Assabah, without specifying the name of this member of the government. He would not be the only minister to promise jobs in his department based on strictly electoral and family proximity criteria.

Other ministers in the current majority are targeting the 40,000 budgetary positions provided for in the 2026 Finance Bill. These positions will have to be filled starting next March, a month coinciding with the disbursement of the sectoral budgets of the ministries. "Thus, these 40,000 positions will be distributed, in their majority, among the sons of notable families who carry weight at the polls, but also the closest and most prominent supporters," affirms the Arabic-language daily.

However, the Ministry of the Interior has recently blocked hundreds of appointments within the municipal councils, "despite the existence of budgetary positions for this purpose." A measure motivated by the financial insufficiency of the municipalities, "which cannot support a plethora of civil servants, most of whom are incompetent, or even ghosts."