Wallis and Futuna's 1st constituency
The constituency of Wallis and Futuna is a French legislative constituency covering the whole of the overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna. It is represented in the XVIth legislature by Mikaele Seo of Renaissance who defeated fellow centri ...
on 15 April 2018. The by-election was called after the
Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to:
* Constitutional Council (Chad)
* Constitutional Council (France)
* Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast)
* Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
* Constitutional Council (Cambodia)
* Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
Sylvain Brial
Sylvain Jacques Brial (born 16 September 1964) is a Wallisian politician and former member of the French National Assembly.
Brial is from a prominent political family. His grandmother was Aloisia Brial, ''Lavelua'' (queen) of Uvéa from 1954 to ...
defeated outgoing deputy Polutele in the first round of the by-election on 15 April.
Napole Polutele
Napole Polutélé (born 25 June 1965) is a French politician.
Early life
Born on Wallis,Sylvain Brial
Sylvain Jacques Brial (born 16 September 1964) is a Wallisian politician and former member of the French National Assembly.
Brial is from a prominent political family. His grandmother was Aloisia Brial, ''Lavelua'' (queen) of Uvéa from 1954 to ...
, who obtained 46.19% of votes, and Hervé Michel of The Republicans (LR), who secured 3.57% of the vote. Polutele, one of four deputies elected in the first round of the legislative elections, sponsored the candidacy of
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
and announced that he would sit with the presidential majority in the National Assembly; he ultimately joined the Constructives group as a related member, having sat as a member of the
Socialist group
The Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (french: Groupe Socialiste, SOC) is a primarily social-democratic political grouping in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was known as the Socialist Group prior to August 2017.
The g ...
in the previous legislature.
After the election, Sylvain Brial decided to appeal the result to the
Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to:
* Constitutional Council (Chad)
* Constitutional Council (France)
* Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast)
* Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
* Constitutional Council (Cambodia)
* Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
, claiming to have discovered irregularities in electoral lists and proxy votes. On 2 February 2018, the constitutional council ruled to void the election of Polutele. Under article L. 64 of the electoral code, should a voter be unable to sign the electoral roll at a polling station, the signature affixed, as required the third paragraph of article L. 62-1, should read "l'électeur ne peut signer lui-même" ("the voter cannot sign themselves") and be provided by a voter of their choice. However, 36 voters merely inscribed a "single cross" that could not be considered a signature, in addition to one voter unable to sign themselves whose vote was accompanied by the signature of another voter. Furthermore, 21 proxy votes were discarded under article R. 75 of the electoral code, either because no signature was given, or because a cross was provided rather than a signature. Because 57 votes were deducted and Polutele avoided a second round by only 16 votes, the constitutional council invalidated the election, triggering a by-election within three months.
On 2 March 2018, the first round of the by-election was scheduled for 15 April 2018, with a second round on 22 April if no candidate secured a majority of votes in the first round.
After his defeat, Polutele filed an appeal with the constitutional council on 26 April.
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...