A
by-election was held in
Wallis and Futuna's 1st constituency on 15 April 2018. The by-election was called after the
Constitutional Council invalidated the election of
Napole Polutele,
miscellaneous left candidate in the
June 2017 legislative elections and member of the
UDI, Agir and Independents group in the
National Assembly, on 2 February 2018.
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.
Background
In the
2017 legislative elections,
miscellaneous right candidate
Napole Polutele was elected in the first round with 50.24% of the vote against another miscellaneous right candidate,
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 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 in the previous legislature.
After the election, Sylvain Brial decided to appeal the result to the
Constitutional Council, 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.
2017 election result
2018 by-election result
References
External links
Results of past legislative by-elections from the Ministry of the Interior
{{By-elections to the 15th National Assembly of France
2018 elections in France
2018
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April 2018 events in France
April 2018 events in Oceania
2018 in Wallis and Futuna
Elections in Wallis and Futuna