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Rabat – The City Council of Rabat turned into pure chaos Friday morning as the members of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) and the Justice and Development Party (PJD) engaged in a violent clash after disagreeing on the council’s budget for 2018.
A few weeks the “War of the Plates” that marked the first day of the 17th General Congress of the Istiqlal Party (PI) on September 30, a new battle surged on the Moroccan political scene. This time, the opponents are the members of the PAM and PJD, who turned the meeting of the second session of October into a battlefield.
A video published on Twitter shows the surreal scene: the suit-clad party members suits throw blows and insults at each other, flipping tables and chairs amid the strident screams of the women, all under the shocked gaze of Mohammed Saddiki, the mayor of the city and member of the PJD.
It all started when the two teams were discussing the city council’s budget for 2018. The situation quickly degenerated, after Seddiki receives direct insults accusing him of “stealing money from the poor,” in reference to the “REDAL” affair that had been the subject of much discussion.
The altercation soon became physical, leading Hicham Lahrech, the city’s advisor and also member of the PJD, to leave the room to perform the Friday prayer, behind King Mohammed VI.
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— FGD Agdal Riad (@FGDAgdalRiad) October 20, 2017
The video, filmed by Omar Elhyani, elected member of the FGD party, was then released on social media. Elhyani recounted the events in a caption attached to the video, recalling that the PAM officials prevented Saddiki from leading the session by gathering in front of his rostrum and removing all the microphones in the room, adding that “at one point, a PAM member punched a PJD official, which provoked the general fight.”
The mayor finally escaped with the help of his supporters. At PAM , a woman became ill and fainted before being taken to the hospital.
“Never has the City Council experienced such violence,” said elected officials who deplore that such scenes emanate from two major political parties.
The meeting, which was suspended by the mayor, will resume this Saturday afternoon and will decide on the approval or refusal the budget for the coming year.
