Abdellatif Ouahbi Dismisses Calls to Step Down, Says His Conscience Is ‘Clear’

Rabat – Amid mounting backlash, protests, and calls for Morocco’s Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi to step down, the minister responded by saying that he is “still the justice minister and secretary general of his party the Modernity and Authenticity (PAM),” and that his conscience is “clear.”

Speaking to Moroccan network TV 2M, the minister responded to calls for his resignation by saying that he will not resign at “the first problem.”

“Maybe I made mistakes and slipped. But I have responsibilities and I will assume them until the end of the mandate I was given,” he continued.

When asked whether he still believed that the nepotism and favoritism allegations had stained the legitimacy of the most recent bar exam, the minister continued to defend the commission that supervised the exam.

“They were welcomed and each of them was able to consult their exam sheet and their score sheet. And all those who have passed the exam have done so by themselves,” he argued.

The statements come days after the onset of an online campaign calling for the minister to resign. Following the allegations of nepotism, some people demanded the launch of an independent investigation into the claims.

Ouahbi responded to these calls by dismissing the allegations, expressing his trust in the supervising committee, and fueled public anger by saying that he would not open a formal investigation based on what he “hears in coffee shops.”

The minister also became the target of backlash, following a statement to the press where he said that the reason his son passed the bar exam is that he “has two bachelor’s degrees from Montreal… His father is rich and paid for his education abroad.”

Some Moroccans disapproved of the statement saying that it undermines Morocco’s educational system, and discriminates against students belonging to socially disadvantaged families.

He issued a half-hearted apology one day later saying that he was sorry “if his statement was misinterpreted” or if it was “manipulated by some journalists,” adding: “I apologize to the Moroccan university and to the professors who taught me.”

However, his statement did little to quell public anger as the online campaign calling for his resignation continues to build steam online through a variety of hashtags in Arabic.