Tangier mayor questioned in Morocco election fraud probe

Moroccan authorities began questioning Tangier mayor and regional coordinator of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), Mounir Limouri, on Monday after he was detained on arrival at Ibn Battuta International Airport from the Spanish city of Malaga.

Limouri, who led PAM's campaign in Tangier during the 23 September legislative elections, is being questioned as part of an investigation into suspected electoral fraud involving ballot papers found at a polling station in the northern city.

The investigation concerns suspected interference with voting operations, forgery and participation in such acts.

The detention and questioning of Limouri marks a significant escalation in the case, which erupted after election papers bearing the logo of PAM, which topped the 23 September elections, were discovered inside a Tangier polling station.

The public prosecutor announced on Saturday that five suspects had been detained, including two polling station heads and their deputies, over the case.

They are suspected of offences related to interference with voting operations, forgery and participation in such acts after authorities detained a person carrying a bag containing election papers.

Polling station No. 44 at Jerusalem School in Tangier's Souani district saw protests from observers on election day after white envelopes were spotted arranged inside a transparent ballot box.

Following the arrest, the public prosecutor at the Tangier Court of First Instance opened an investigation into the suspect and the contents of the bag.

The King's public prosecutor at the Tangier Court of Appeal also launched a parallel investigation into a widely circulated video showing the ballot box and white envelopes.

The case has since widened, with authorities investigating the source of the ballot papers and how they were obtained and stamped.

Limouri's legal status will be determined based on the findings of the investigation and decisions by the relevant public prosecution authorities.

Central inspection committee sent to Tangier

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said it had sent a central inspection committee to Tangier to investigate alleged irregularities at two polling stations during the 23 September elections.

"Following the violations that marred the electoral process at two polling stations during the 23 September 2026 legislative elections in the Tangier-Assilah electoral district, the Interior Ministry sent a central inspection committee to Tangier to investigate and establish the facts by conducting the necessary administrative enquiries and examining information related to these events," the ministry said.

It added that any administrative measures to establish legal responsibility would be based on the committee's findings.

PAM awaits investigation results

Amid the rapidly developing case, PAM's collective leadership said it would await the outcome of the judicial investigation before deciding whether to take any action within the party.

In a statement on Monday, the leadership praised the work of judicial institutions and said the completion of the investigation would establish the facts and determine responsibility.

The party said any internal responsibility would depend on the conclusions reached by judicial and administrative authorities and stressed that it would not pre-empt the investigation.

PAM won 97 of the 395 seats in the 23 September election, placing it ahead of the National Rally of Independents with 66 seats and the Istiqlal Party with 65.

The case had already triggered speculation over Limouri's whereabouts after reports circulated that he had left Morocco following reports of a national wanted notice against him.

On Sunday, Limouri said he had travelled to Spain for work and professional commitments.

He denied leaving Morocco to evade the investigation and said he would return to Tangier and place himself at the disposal of judicial authorities.

As the investigation enters a new phase, Chedid Lazraq, head of the North Africa Centre for Studies, Research and Public Policy Evaluation, said the case was particularly sensitive because it concerned the integrity of the vote and the security of ballot papers.

He said that if investigators established that ballot papers had been unlawfully inserted, added or replaced, or that other manoeuvres had been used to alter the election result, the allegations would go beyond a minor electoral violation.

Such acts, he said, are criminalised under Organic Law No. 27.11 governing the House of Representatives.

Lazraq told The New Arab that Article 48 of the law penalises, in specified circumstances, the misappropriation or unlawful addition of ballot papers.

Article 58 penalises replacing ballot papers or using manoeuvres intended to change or attempt to change an election result, while Article 67 criminalises fraudulent acts that affect or attempt to affect the integrity of voting.

He said the decisive legal issue was not simply the discovery of the papers, but establishing their source, how they were obtained, why they were prepared, who ordered or participated in their use, and their connection to the polling station.