Rural Corruption Scandal Rocks Moroccan Province: Elected Officials Ousted

By administrative decision, the governor of the province of Sidi Bennour has proceeded to dismiss six elected officials from the Istiqlal party and one elected official from the National Rally of Independents (RNI), who had already been convicted by the court of first instance of Sidi Bennour for electoral misappropriation and in the management of public affairs. According to the explanations of some local elected officials, this dismissal was inevitable, even if it took time to be pronounced due to the implementation of the procedure. Indeed, it is the Minister of the Interior who authorizes the local administrative authority to make such a decision.

These elected officials were the subject of a complaint addressed to the Attorney General in Rabat, reinforced by incriminating documents. The elements of the Royal Gendarmerie of Sidi Bennour were then tasked with conducting a thorough investigation and questioning the elected officials mentioned in the complaint. From the confrontation between the plaintiffs and the accused and the examination of the incriminating documents, it appears that these elected officials had, following the elections of September 8, 2021, paid money to the President of the Municipal Council in order to guarantee their place as councilors within the said Council.

These elected officials have paid dearly for their electoral crime. In June 2022, the court of first instance of Sidi Bennour sentenced them to three months in prison. Each of them was also fined 10,000 dirhams.