Moroccan lawyers prepare election appeals despite ongoing professional strike

Moroccan lawyers are preparing legal challenges to the results of the Sept. 23 legislative elections, even as the country’s bar associations continue a nationwide suspension of professional services.

Candidates who failed to win seats have contacted lawyers to examine possible grounds for challenging announced results, according to sources cited by Hespress AR.

The appeals concern alleged irregularities during the electoral process and are being prepared within the legal deadlines for contesting election results.

Lawyers have been meeting with candidates and political party representatives to review their cases and examine election documents, including official records and minutes submitted by provincial and prefectural authorities.

Several lawyers are working with candidates and political parties to prepare legal briefs for submission to the competent courts, according to the sources.

The work comes amid a months-long dispute between Morocco’s lawyers and authorities over Law 66.23 governing the legal profession. The Association of Bar Associations of Morocco said Sept. 20 that it would continue suspending professional services until Oct. 7, when the stoppage would be temporarily suspended.

The continuation of the strike has generated debate within the legal profession, with some lawyers previously returning to courts or submitting pleadings despite the collective action. The association has acknowledged that individual lawyers may take different positions, while maintaining that its collective decision remains in force.

The election appeals have added another point of tension, as some lawyers have objected to colleagues handling election-related cases while the professional action remains in effect.

Those opposed argue that taking on election appeals conflicts with the collective position adopted by the country’s bar associations and could weaken the profession’s unified stance.

Political parties have also established alternative legal arrangements to handle potential election challenges. The Istiqlal Party, for example, said it had assigned lawyers affiliated with the party to provide legal support to candidates, while the Party of Progress and Socialism said it had formed a legal team of lawyers, university professors and legal specialists to prepare election challenges.

According to the latter party, election challenges are subject to a 30-day legal deadline and candidates can submit petitions to the Constitutional Court without being required to appoint a lawyer.

The challenges could lead courts to review election records and other evidence submitted by unsuccessful candidates. Any change to the announced results would depend on decisions by the competent judicial authorities.