Authorities issues search warrant for Tangier mayor amid election investigation

A search warrant has been issued for Tangier Mayor Mounir Limouri as authorities investigate suspected election violations at a polling station in the northern Moroccan city, according to Hespress AR sources.

Limouri, who is also a regional official with the Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, became the subject of the warrant as reports circulated that he had left Morocco. Other sources cited by Hespress AR said his immediate family had joined him. The reports have not been independently confirmed.

The investigation centers on an incident at Al Quds School in Tangier’s Casabarata neighborhood during the Sept. 23 legislative elections.

Five people have been detained in connection with the case and remain in police custody as the investigation continues, according to information obtained by Hespress AR.

The case has drawn attention in Tangier’s political circles, while sources said senior authorities are closely monitoring the investigation as prosecutors seek to establish what happened and determine who may have been involved.

The investigation has also raised concern among elected officials and party figures with links to people being questioned, according to Hespress AR sources, who said some fear their names could emerge during the proceedings.

The incident began in the early hours of election day, when tensions and protests were reported at the Al Quds polling station following reports of ballot papers found inside or near the station.

Authorities subsequently detained a person suspected of possessing unauthorized ballot papers bearing markings associated with PAM.

The public prosecutor at the Tangier Court of Appeal opened a judicial investigation after a video circulated online showing a glass box containing several white envelopes. The prosecutor said the investigation was intended to establish the circumstances of the incident and determine any legal consequences.

PAM has denied involvement in the incident.

Abdellatif Ghalbzouri, the party’s candidate in the Tangier-Assilah constituency, said the person initially detained had no connection to PAM and rejected claims that he was one of the party’s polling representatives.

Ghalbzouri also said his visit to Tangier police headquarters was to file a complaint over what he described as defamatory allegations against PAM, rather than in response to a summons for questioning.

The investigation remains ongoing, and the reported warrant does not by itself establish criminal responsibility.