Abdelilah Benkirane has voiced strong opposition to Article 2 of draft organic law no. 04.21, which seeks to amend and supplement organic law no. 27.11 concerning the House of Representatives. This legislation, recently adopted by the Akhannouch government, has sparked significant controversy. The Secretary General of the PJD is particularly critical of a clause that imposes «a prison sentence of two to five years, along with a fine ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 dirhams, on anyone who publishes, broadcasts, transmits, or distributes rumors or false information intended to undermine the credibility and transparency of the elections». «The Ministry of the Interior cannot forbid us from questioning the election results», Benkirane declared in a video shared on social media this Wednesday. «This is not democracy. I have the right to doubt, and no one has the right to silence me. Such suppression has no place in the kingdom of Mohammed VI and is unworthy of Morocco in 2025 and 2026», he asserted. The former head of government reminded that several political parties have previously expressed skepticism regarding election outcomes in Morocco. «We raised similar concerns in 2021, but not in 2002, 2007, 2011, or 2016», he clarified. Benkirane concluded by urging the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, to reconsider the provision allowing up to five years of imprisonment in Article 2 of the draft organic law no. 04.21. The proposal is set to be presented to the House of Representatives on Monday. Abdeslam El Aziz, Secretary General of the Left Federation, echoes this stance. It is worth recalling that the Ministry of the Interior had previously prosecuted former Istiqlal Party deputy, Abdellah Bekkali, in 2015 after he published an article denouncing vote-buying during the communal and regional elections of September 4, 2015.
