The Case of the Stolen Ballots... The Mayor of Tangier Comes Out on Top, and an Urgent Statement from the Ministry of the Interior!

The “ballot paper forgery” case at Al-Quds School in Tangier took a critical and serious turn when, on the morning of Monday, September 28, 2026, the judicial police arrested the mayor of Tangier, Mounir Lemouri, upon his arrival at Ibn Battuta Airport from Malaga, Spain. This arrest comes as part of ongoing investigations supervised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding allegations of irregularities and violations surrounding the September 23 elections, after his name surfaced in the rigorous investigations that had previously led to the prosecution of five suspects—including polling station officials—on serious criminal charges related to fraud and violations of the voting process. On the administrative and political front, the Ministry of the Interior announced the dispatch of a central inspection committee, headed by the Director General of Internal Affairs for the Governors, to investigate officials and agents of the Tangier authorities to determine how the ballots were leaked and to establish administrative responsibilities. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) responded to the arrest of its campaign manager in the city by stating its commitment to the judicial process, and expressed its full readiness to demonstrate political courage and apply the principle of accountability by disavowing and sacrificing any member or official whom judicial and administrative investigations prove to be implicated in this scandal.