Bags of allegedly falsified ballot papers discovered at a Tangier polling station during the September 23 legislative elections have landed four polling officials before an investigating judge, with the city’s mayor among four others due to be questioned in the case.
The investigation moved into detailed hearings at the Tangier Court of Appeal on Thursday, beginning with the presiding officer and his deputy from the Al Qods school polling station, where the suspect ballots were found.
Both men, held in pretrial detention at Ain Dalia prison, face allegations of ballot falsification in the Tanger-Assilah constituency. They were brought to the courthouse in central Tangier under Royal Gendarmerie escort.
The judge subsequently questioned the president and deputy of another polling station. A confrontation between the four suspects is expected as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged irregularities.
The case has also drawn in Tangier Mayor Mounir Laymouri, who remains in custody at Asilah local prison and has yet to appear for detailed questioning.
Three others awaiting hearings are the owner of a tourist apartment building on the road to Rabat, the general accountant of a company owned by the mayor and a school supervisor. All four are being held in connection with the investigation.
The questioning is taking place behind closed doors, with investigators seeking to establish the circumstances of the suspected ballot tampering and the roles, if any, played by those implicated.
Once the hearings and planned confrontations are completed, the judge will determine the next stage of the proceedings and set a date for trial.
