The Court of Auditors warns of outstanding repayment of public funds by Moroccan political parties

The annual report of the Moroccan High Court of Auditors has once again raised the issue of the repayment of public funds unduly received by political parties. The audit body warns of the persistent ‘dilemma of Moroccan parties that do not repay unjustified public subsidies to the State’. 

As part of its audit of party accounts and examination of the use of public subsidies, the Council notes that 24 parties have returned a total of 36.03 million dirhams to the Treasury corresponding to undue or unused subsidies. However, another 14 parties still owe 21.85 million dirhams, amounts that have not been reimbursed despite not being supported by legal documentation or not having been used for the purposes for which they were granted. 

Political analyst Mohamed Chaqir stated that ‘the recommendations recently issued on public support for political parties are not new; rather, they constitute a renewal of previous recommendations that have been emphasised. These recommendations refer to the need to return unused campaign funds and to resolve the problems of funding research offices and contracts with consultants.’ 

Chaqir explained, in statements to the local newspaper Hespress, that ‘this issue is currently related to preparations for the upcoming elections, noting that ‘previous reports from the council included the same observations, which means that parties are legally obliged to return amounts that were not spent for the purposes for which they were allocated during the last election periods.’ 

He also pointed out that ‘some parties still lack effective governance, as public funds are managed in an illogical and unjustified manner. This is clearly evident in the spending of budgets on incomplete studies or contracts with consultants whose legal or practical viability has not been proven.’ 

Previously, the national symposium on ‘Elections 2026’, organised by the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Agdal, Rabat, recommended paying attention to real electoral political programmes in order to support the power of political elites and restore the credibility of political action in Morocco. 

The symposium emphasised ‘improving the capacity of parties to formulate and present realistic electoral programmes politically, with a focus on renewing and strengthening political discourse aimed at young people, as well as combating populist tendencies through political discourse based on programmes and political vision’.

 

The experts stated that ‘the debate on electoral programmes tends to return to the forefront before each election, as it is an important factor that also contributes to guiding the citizen's vote, further explaining that ‘several parties have understood the difficulty of making electoral promises that are difficult to keep, especially when it comes to vital social sectors.’ 

The observers confirmed that the ‘communication dilemma’ affects Moroccan political parties at this important moment, noting that ‘the recent shift of young people towards sports rather than politics is an additional challenge. 

They add that political parties stand out as a central player in the official discourse on democracy and pluralism, but in daily practice they seem unable to fulfil their representative and framing functions.