Political Interests Impede Slum Demolition in Major Moroccan Cities

Information and leaks concerning the possible redrawing of electoral constituencies, based on the demolition and rehousing operations recorded throughout the past year and the beginning of the current year, have put the organizational leaders of political parties active in the Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions on alert. According to sources at Hespress, potential candidates are seeking this information in order to determine their electoral direction, decide where they will run and what political affiliation they will carry in the 2026 elections. To this end, they have used intermediaries to mobilize civil society associations as part of anticipatory steps aimed at preserving their influence among the inhabitants of the new residential areas, particularly in the outskirts and suburbs of Casablanca and Marrakech, the same sources pointed out.

Commune presidents would be involved in attempts to delay and hinder the demolition of illegal constructions located within their jurisdiction. Electoral considerations have led them to try to preserve certain population clusters, the same sources said, noting that reports sent by authority representatives, including caids and pashas, to central services have included complaints against commune presidents. The latter have been slow to provide the necessary equipment to carry out demolition decisions that have been the subject of final judgments. They would have cited bulldozer breakdowns or their unavailability to cover illegal constructions they had authorized outside the legal framework. A way that has allowed them to build electoral bases in recent years.

Why these actions? The possible increase in the number of parliamentary seats, particularly in several communes on the outskirts of Casablanca, is actually whetting the appetite of potential candidates.