USFP candidate selection disputed

USFP candidate selection allegations have become a sensitive issue in Moroccan political news. According to details reported by Médias24, the procedure for selecting the women candidates set to lead the USFP regional lists for the September 23 legislative elections has triggered internal dissent.

Several party activists are challenging the way the procedure was conducted, especially how candidacies were reportedly compared and ranked by the commissions responsible for reviewing the files. The debate also concerns the role given to financial contributions in this internal process.

USFP candidate selection allegations: what is disputed

In a response to the political bureau’s decision to temporarily freeze her membership, Manal Tekal contests the conditions under which the candidates were compared and selected. A member of the political bureau, she says that, as a candidate, she observed that the financial contribution of a potential candidate had allegedly become the sole and decisive criterion.

She also argues that expressing a dissenting view, or questioning the regularity of an internal procedure, should not automatically become grounds for sanction when it comes from a member of one of the party’s governing bodies.

Allegations linked to money

For her part, Dr Hayat Barakate, a member of the National Council, denounces what she describes as a fully fledged political brokerage market. In her open letter, she claims that the president of the National Council distributed sheets to candidates asking them to write down the financial amount they pledged to pay, then sign them.

• The USFP leadership defends the regularity of the process.
• Measures have been taken against some dissenting voices.
• Official reconfirmation remains useful on institutional points.

For Moroccans living abroad, this case is a reminder of the importance of following how elections are prepared in Morocco. The USFP candidate selection allegations directly touch on confidence in party procedures, at a time when many Moroccan expatriates maintain political, family, or administrative ties with the country.