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Rabat – Morocco’s opposition parties recently brought up a decision to submit a motion of no confidence against Aziz Akhannouch’s government.
Initially, opposition parties were set to submit the motion on Monday. Parliamentary commitments and the absence of political parties’ leadership members required a postponement to submit a motion of censure until next week.
A motion of censure, or motion of no confidence, is an act through which political parties address criticism against the government, its policy, or approach in handling political affairs.
Opposition groups in Morocco already filed the draft of the motion on Sunday and intend to submit it to the House of Representatives by next week, which will allow them to collect enough votes.
Morocco’s Constitution guarantees the parliamentary opposition the right to monitor government action, including through motions of no confidence, the interpellation of the government, oral questions, and within the framework of parliamentary inquiry commissions as stipulated in Article 10 of the Constitution.
The same article emphasized how opposition groups are required to contribute “actively and constructively to parliamentary work.”
For months, opposition leaders have been criticizing Akhannouch’s government for what they perceived as dysfunctions and inefficiency in handling internal affairs.
The leader of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, has been calling on Akhannouch to step down, citing his alleged involvement in controversial government contracts.
In December 2024, Benkirane accused Akhannouch of abusing his power by overseeing the bidding process for a seawater desalination project in the Casablanca-Settat region, which ultimately was a reported conflict of interest, as it benefited a consortium that included Afriquia Gaz, owned by Akhannouch.
“To be honest, this time, I don’t see how Mr. Aziz Akhannouch can continue as head of government,” Benkirane said, urging him to “step down and let Morocco breathe for the next two years,” the PJD head said.
Benkirane has also been criticizing and accusing Akhannouch of delaying the reconstruction of for areas devastated by the Al Haouz earthquake.
Most recently, the opposition groups have been calling on the government to allow the establishment of a parliamentary fact-finding commission amid growing concerns over the effectiveness of the cabinet subsidies for livestock imports.
The Progress and Socialism Party (PPS), which is part of the opposition groups, has been issuing several statements to discuss the concerns over the subsidies for livestock importers.
“The political bureau once again highlighted the significant meaning behind the opposition parties’ initiative to have the House of Representatives form a fact-finding commission on the circumstances and impacts of direct subsidies and customs and tax exemptions granted by the government to importers of sheep and cattle,” PPS wrote in April.
PPS Secretary General Nabil Benabllah said in March that the tax exemption granted by the government to sheep and cattle importers amounted to $1.38 billion from 2022 to 2024.
About 277 importers benefited from these exceptions.
The government’s official estimate was $31.5 million, according to Benabdallah, who cited Speaker of the House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami, who announced the alleged official statistics.
In a new statement, Benabdellah sharply criticized the government, noting that the cabinet finds itself in a “genuine political, ethical and legal deadlock in the face of national public opinion due to the scandal involving billions of dirhams it has squandered.”
“This has been done through direct subsidies and tax and customs exemptions that it has granted- and continues to grant to livestock importers on a silver platter,” Benabdellah said in the new statement published on his party’s official website.
He also criticized the government for the lack of a positive response to the inquiry initiative to uncover the truth over the subsidies granted to the livestock importers.
“Unfortunately, the government found no better way to address this troubling situation than to pressure its parliamentary majority into attempting to downplay – or even thwart and nullify – opposition’s constitutionally and legally grounded initiative by submitting a request for an exploratory mission on the same subject,” he said.
Benabdellah further asked the government to provide clarification on why the cabinet is avoiding the formation of a commission of inquiry if it is “truly certain that its support for livestock importers is free of any irregularities.”
