The case dates back to election day on September 23, when a bag containing election documents was found near a polling station set up at Al Qods School in Tangier’s Casabarata district. A video showing the arrest of a man found carrying the bag circulated on social media, triggering widespread controversy over voting conditions in the constituency.
The King’s Prosecutor at the Tangier Court of First Instance subsequently announced the immediate opening of a judicial investigation. Investigators soon arrested five suspects, including two polling-station presidents and their respective deputies.
How the alleged scheme unfolded
On Saturday, September 26, the prosecution outlined what investigators had established at that stage.
Read also : Ballots taken out, then slipped back into Tangier polling stations, prosecutors say
The suspect arrested with the bag, a deputy head of one of the polling stations, allegedly removed a batch of ballots from inside his polling station with the help of the station’s president. He allegedly hid them in the bag, took them outside the school and later sought to reintroduce them into two polling stations in coordination with the other suspects.
Investigators also found that the ink used on the seized ballots differed from the ink used at the polling stations.
Based on these findings, the prosecution asked the investigating judge to open a formal judicial investigation into suspected interference with voting operations, falsification and participation in those acts.
Read also : Tangier mayor held for longer as police question him over pre-poll calls
National arrest warrant issued for Laymouri
A day earlier, on Friday, September 25, a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued for Laymouri, who is also the party’s election campaign director in Tangier.
One of the suspects had reportedly mentioned the mayor’s name during questioning. A confrontation between the two men was expected to help establish the facts.
Authorities initially contacted Laymouri before going to his home, where they did not find him. His departure for Spain through the Bab Sebta border crossing subsequently led to the issuance of the warrant.
Laymouri denied that he had fled. He told Le360 that the trip abroad had been planned in advance and was unrelated to the judicial developments in Tangier.
Arrest at Tangier airport
Laymouri was eventually arrested on Monday, September 28, upon his arrival at Tangier Ibn Battouta International Airport on a flight from Malaga.
He was taken to the Tangier police headquarters, where the King’s Prosecutor ordered him placed in police custody that same evening to allow investigators to examine his possible involvement in the case.
He underwent around 10 hours of questioning by judicial police officers. According to information reported at the time, investigators played him recordings of telephone calls showing contacts with people being prosecuted in the case before election day.
Read also : ‘I did not flee’: Tangier mayor says he will return Monday as vote probe awaits
Laymouri chose to remain silent and declined to make a statement until appearing before the King’s Prosecutor.
His police custody was extended on Wednesday, September 30.
The investigating judge ordered him into pretrial detention on Thursday, October 1, as the judicial investigation continues.
