'Get out, Akhannouch': massive digital campaign against Morocco's tycoon PM Aziz Akhannouch emerges

"#Get Out Akhannouch". Tens of thousands of social media users have tweeted the hashtag since last week's launch of a massive digital campaign against Morocco's tycoon PM Aziz Akhannouch as fuel prices in the kingdom skyrocket.

Under three French hashtags #Degage_Akhannouch, #7dh_Gazoil, and #8dh_Essence," tens of thousands of Twitter users called for an immediate decrease in gas prices, accusing Akhannouch, who owns the largest gas distribution company in Morocco Afriquia Gaz, of benefiting from the crisis.

"Inflation in Morocco: The head of government spoke yesterday with the representative of hydrocarbon distributors in Morocco to find a win-win solution to the current crisis," tweeted a Moroccan user named Bouchra, with a photoshopped picture of Morocco's PM having a conversation with himself to spotlight the conflict of interest the campaign was calling out.

inflation au Maroc :
Le chef du gouvernement s'est entretenu hier avec le représentant des distributeurs d'hydrocarbures au Maroc afin de trouver une solution win-win à la crise actuelle.#7dh_gasoil #8dh_Essence #Degage_Akhannouch #Dégage_Akhannouch pic.twitter.com/oJ4usUb8LV

— Bouchra Ha (@BouchraHamidi3) July 17, 2022

The fuel price in Morocco has stayed over MAD 16 ($US 1.6) and MAD 17 ($US 1.7) throughout the past few months. 

Taking into consideration that the average personal annual income in the Kingdom is $US 2,400 ($US 200 per month), affording gas has become a luxury for many Moroccans today.

"I simply cannot afford gas anymore. My work is 2 hours far from where I live and there's no available transport there. Now, my colleagues and I share one car to save," Mouhcin, a Moroccan teacher, told The New Arab.

The Moroccan government has blamed the increase on the Russian-Ukrainian war.

As of Monday morning, #GetoutAkhannouch - shared originally in French (#degageakhannouch) - generated over 11,000 tweets and thousands of retweets.

Aziz Akhannouch, the 13th richest individual in Africa with an estimated net worth of $US 2.2 billion, has played a key role in the Moroccan political scene since 2007. 

However, the political presence of the tycoon has always been problematic. 

His lack of engagement in political debates and his controversial statements on the necessity to "re-educate" Moroccans have painted him as a tone-deaf politician.

Nevertheless, a massive electoral campaign that promised more rights for the Amazigh community and more job opportunities for the youth enabled the tycoon's party to score first place in the last Moroccan elections.

The new campaign against Akhannouch has evoked a deja vu among many who compared the "Get out Akhannouch" to the "let it spoil" campaign in 2018.

In 2018, anonymous cyber activists posted calls on social media outlets for a boycott that targeted three companies, namely Akhannouch’s Afriquia Gas stations.

Many boycotters targetted these companies since they symbolise an economy dominated by large groups linked to a business and political elite.

Akhannouch, who rarely gives any interviews, told the French website Jeune Afrique in 2019 that "he ignored" the boycott campaign accusing his opponents of "exploiting Moroccans' hardship for political goals."

Today, some analysts are questioning the credibility of the new campaign.

In a detailed analysis, Marc Owen Jones, the author of digital authoritarianism in the MENA region, highlighted that many accounts operating in the hashtag are either fake or suspicious.

7/ The clearly suspicious accounts were also active throughout the campaign - not just opportunistic (see those marked in blue below). Bear in mind these are the low-hanging fruit, and it's probably many more are suspect - (not to say much sentiment isn't real). pic.twitter.com/G7O0CVr9Qs

— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) July 17, 2022

"So it would appear the degage Akhannouch hashtag is manipulated, but by whom and for what purpose is not clear. Maybe it's opponents, maybe it's his enemies, or those trying to direct focus on him from elsewhere. Maybe people really just want him gone," concluded the analyst.

Besides the digital intricacy, "Get out Akhannouch" is more than a digital hashtag. It is a slogan that hundreds of protesters first chanted on February 20, this year, which marked the anniversary of Morocco's uprising in 2011.

Amid the ongoing anti-Akhannouch campaign, the PM attended over the weekend a musical festival in Agadir, a city where he also occupies the position of mayor.

His presence prompted dozens of people in the audience to start chanting, "Get out, Akhannouch". Videos showed the PM ignoring the chants and enjoying the musical tunes of the festival.

Akhennouch copieusement hué lors de sa présence hier au festival Timitar à Agadir #Degage_Akhannouch pic.twitter.com/ukaElp0QzC

— Omar H. 🇲🇦 (@Omar_H_) July 17, 2022

Many Moroccans found his attendance at the festival intimidating and tone deaf, as hundreds of Moroccans are battling fires in the North of Morocco. Another crisis Akhannouch has not reacted to yet.

Abdelilah Benkirane, the head of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and Akhannouch's first rival, said Saturday that he "doesn’t support" the growing campaign against the tycoon.

"Hashtags and referendums do not dismiss governments in Morocco. Only Sidna (our lord) [King Mohammed VI] has the competence (…) to put an end to this cabinet and call for the organisation of early legislative elections," Benkirane said during a PJD conference.

Benkirane has also called for giving more time to Akhannouch to "show what he is capable of."

Many members of Benkirane's party have nevertheless joined the digital campaign calling for the immediate resignation of the prime minister.