Fouzi Lekjaa delivered an apparent riposte to Rachid Talbi Alami on Thursday, rejecting any attempt to divide up government posts before voters have had their say in the September 23 legislative elections.
Speaking at a PAM gathering in Ouled Naceur, Fkih Ben Saleh province, a day after an audio recording attributed to the RNI heavyweight circulated online, Lekjaa said his approach to politics was built around “seriousness, work and sincerity in the service of this country.”
“Dividing up the spoils without having hunted them is not our concern,” he said.
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The remark comes after one of the most politically sensitive passages in the recording attributed to Talbi Alami, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a senior RNI figure.
In the audio, Talbi Alami is alleged to say that Lekjaa would not get the Economy and Finance portfolio after the elections and that the ministry would remain with its current holder, Nadia Fettah.
Lekjaa, who recently joined the PAM, did not name Talbi Alami in his remarks on Thursday. But the timing and his reference to dividing up positions came as tensions between the two parties spill increasingly into the open ahead of the election.
Lekjaa turns to cost of living—and the frakchia
Lekjaa also put purchasing power at the center of his remarks, returning to the pressure households faced around Eid Al-Adha.
He attacked the fracchia—livestock middlemen and speculators blamed for driving up sheep prices—saying those who turned what should have been a moment of celebration into anxiety for families were “real terrorists.”
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The choice of words carried an additional political resonance after the leaked Talbi Alami recording.
In the audio, the House Speaker is alleged to accuse the PAM of “terrorizing” or pressuring prospective candidates from rival parties, particularly the RNI, to bring them into its ranks.
The exchange comes amid a widening confrontation between the two former coalition partners over candidate recruitment and political defections ahead of the September 23 vote.
The RNI this week accused the PAM of “wooing” and pressuring its elected officials and members, allegations the PAM rejected. The party countered by pointing to the RNI’s own recruitment of candidates from rival parties ahead of the 2021 elections.
Lekjaa also announced that the PAM would present its election program on September 1, calling for competition to be fought over ideas and results.
He singled out youth employment and territorial disparities among the priorities ahead, calling for a country that advances “at the same speed” from Tangier to Lagouira.
