Benkirane’s likening of support for the import of sacrificial animals to “electoral bribery” attracts criticism from the majority

Abdelilah Benkirane, the former Prime Minister, returned to ignite the flames of a debate that has not yet subsided, regarding the government’s support for sheep importers with about 500 dirhams per head as part of a plan to import up to 600 thousand heads of sheep from abroad, especially Romania and Spain, to cover the demand on the occasion of Eid. Al-Adha, in the end, considered the matter “premature electoral bribery by people with money and electoral credit.”

Benkirane, who was speaking at the last meeting of the General Secretariat of the Justice and Development Party, downplayed the effectiveness of the government measures that were taken during the Eid al-Adha period, “and sought to provide the total number of sacrifices necessary at affordable prices.” According to him, “the government failed in this after it did not The support is reflected in the prices at which Moroccans purchased their sacrificial animals this year.”

In light of what Benkirane said, none of the leaders of the majority government parties considered the words of the former prime minister “not based on data, and nothing more than an acknowledgment of the extent to which these measures can enable the majority to secure the support of citizens during the next electoral stage.”

Mohamed Salouh, from his standpoint as a leader in the Authenticity and Modernity Party, rejected what Benkirane said, as he stressed that the latter “may not realize the extent of the legal weight of the word bribery, and the extent to which it is a crime punishable by law, and it is said when pushing a citizen to pay sums in exchange for benefiting from his rights.” natural and constitutionally stipulated.”

Salouh added, stating to Hespress, “This statement is an admission by Benkirane that the government has enacted measures that affect the citizen in his daily life, and that they can create a qualitative difference to benefit him, as it always bothers them when the government sets social programs that could push citizens to renew their confidence in it in the future.” “While what is difficult is if this government has not been able to positively influence their political views.”

The same spokesman stated: “It is unfortunate that the opposition raises marginal matters like this at a time when there are a number of major projects that the government is working on, and there is no shame in enacting measures that will push citizens to vote on them again.” We hope that his intuition is correct.”

The leader “Al-Bami” linked the former Prime Minister’s speech to the existence of his “fears regarding the results of the upcoming elections.” This is a natural fear for opposition parties as a whole, as long as their appearance in the political arena remains dull up to now,” he said, rejecting in the end the label “bribery” because it remains “criminal and requires serious activation of legal procedures.”

For his part, Al-Ayachi Al-Farfar, a parliamentarian for the Istiqlal Party, said, “Criticism of public policies and government measures must be responsible, supported by statistics, and supported by realistic data that proves it far from any rhetoric that carries within it populism,” highlighting that “what the government did came within the framework of a government program.” In an effort to implement the royal directives regarding the establishment of a social state and reduce the burden on the citizen at a time when he is still suffering from the repercussions of Corona, drought, and inflation.

Al-Farfar returned, telling Hespress, to confirm that “helping citizens buy the sacrificial animal at a reasonable price to perform the Eid al-Adha ritual may not be electoral bribery, especially if we consider the social and religious connotations of this annual occasion,” explaining that “the government decided, despite the fact that these measures are costly, to be in addition to Citizen.”

The same spokesman pointed out that “the supporters of this proposal seem to have lost their minds after it became clear to them that the government was not defeated in the face of the difficult circumstances, as it chose to take a number of measures, perhaps the most prominent of which is the social dialogue that is still open, which worried those who were basing their programs on fragility.” “, according to his expression.