There is a dark, narrow corridor in Rabat’s old walled medina, past the plastic fruit, pirated DVDs, previously owned sandals and other souk castoffs, where the street beggars come to unwind. Tucked away from the hyperactive intersection of Mohammed V and Hassan II avenues, they can put down their crutches and relax with a lukewarm bowl of bissara, a gooey green fava bean soup.

When King Mohammed VI first inherited the throne nearly eight years ago, these were just the sort of citizens expected to attract the modernizing 36-year-old’s royal gaze. His interest in those less fortunate even earned him the nickname, “King of the Poor.” But now in his forties, married, with a second child just born, Mohammed VI faces a much tougher political challenge: consolidating power in the wake of the country’s upcoming elections. One recent step in that direction, however, might seem puzzling.

No political leader takes pleasure in unfavorable polls. But not many would go so far as to ban polling altogether. The government of Morocco is now considering doing just that, with a bill that would make polling next to impossible. What would compel such a draconian measure in a country long held up as the poster child of reform in the region?