Seven suspects detained in ballot papers case in Tangier
Two additional suspects have been arrested in Tangier in the case of ballot paper manipulation during Moroccan legislative elections, bringing the total number of detainees to seven.
Tangier: two fresh arrests in falsified ballot papers scandal
Two additional suspects have been placed in provisional detention as part of the case concerning the theft and marking of ballot papers during Moroccan legislative elections, the public prosecutor's office of the Court of Appeal of Tangier announced Thursday. According to Hespress, the total number of people detained in this case now stands at seven.
The two newly implicated suspects were presented to the prosecutor's office following the completion of technical examinations in the framework of the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft of ballot papers.
According to the prosecutor's statement, one of the suspects is an accountant at a private company. He allegedly participated in marking the ballot papers with the symbol of a political party, at the request of his employer, who is the second suspect arrested. The latter was found in an apartment of a hotel complex in the company of two other suspects already in provisional detention in this case. The group had two bags containing ballot papers, which they allegedly marked collectively with the emblem of a political party.
Investigators recovered hotel surveillance footage, which was allegedly deliberately erased. These recordings show the second suspect, his accountant and two other people implicated in the case inside the apartment, before they left the premises. The images also reveal the presence of the person who allegedly removed the ballot papers from a polling station to bring them back there, according to the prosecutor.
Investigators established that the two bags visible in the hotel images corresponded to those later seized from two polling stations. Technical analysis of the second suspect's telephone furthermore revealed several calls made before and on the day of the election with two of the suspects already detained.
On the basis of these elements, the prosecutor's office requested the opening of judicial proceedings against the two new suspects, who remain in provisional detention. They are being prosecuted notably for violation of electoral operations and participation in forgery acts, according to the statement.
The prosecutor's office specified that it will continue to monitor the progress of the investigation and will present any requisition it deems necessary to ensure the application of the law. The statement was issued by the Attorney General of the King at the Court of Appeal of Tangier on 1 October 2026.
Source: Hespress