Tangier Mayor Monir Limouri has been charged with alleged electoral violations and placed in pretrial detention as part of a judicial investigation into the handling of ballot papers during Morocco’s Sept. 23 legislative elections.
The investigating judge at the Tangier Court of Appeal charged Limouri with violating electoral operations with the aim of altering or attempting to alter election results, participating in the forgery of a public document, and bribery through an offer, promise or gift intended to induce an act, according to Hespress sources.
The charges were brought under Article 58 of Organic Law No. 27.11 governing the House of Representatives, as well as Articles 352, 353, 251 and 129 of Morocco’s Criminal Code, according to the same sources.
The investigating judge ordered Limouri held in pretrial detention under Articles 152 and 153 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The decision follows about 72 hours of police custody after Limouri was arrested Monday at Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport upon returning from Malaga, Spain, under a national wanted notice linked to the case.
The investigation stems from events on election day, Sept. 23, when a person was reportedly found carrying a bag containing ballot papers linked to a polling station at Al-Quds School in Tangier’s Kasbarata neighborhood.
Investigators subsequently examined how the ballot papers had been removed from the polling station and later returned.
The investigation then expanded to a hotel facility in Tangier, where authorities identified Limouri and other people in connection with the case, according to the sources.
Technical investigations reportedly recovered surveillance-camera footage that had been deleted and examined mobile phones, communications and other seized material.
According to the reported findings, the recovered footage was used to link two bags seen inside the hotel facility to the two bags seized as part of the investigation. Investigators also identified communications between Limouri and other suspects before and during election day, according to the same sources.
The prosecutor’s office had previously announced that the election investigation had expanded after investigators recovered deleted surveillance footage and examined phone records. The prosecution said the evidence indicated that ballot papers had been removed from a polling station and later returned, prompting a request for a formal judicial investigation.
Limouri, who is also a regional official of PAM, now remains in pretrial detention as the judicial investigation continues.
The charges are allegations at this stage and do not constitute a conviction. The investigating judge’s proceedings are intended to establish the facts and determine any potential criminal responsibility as the case moves through the judicial process.
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