Will it be necessary to organize new legislative elections in the second and third district of the Marne? This is the question that the Constitutional Council will have to decide. The Elders agreed on Friday toexamine the appeals filed by Laure Millerpresidential majority candidate in the second constituency, and by Chantal Berthelemy, candidate for Nupes in the third constituency, as noted by L’Union. These appeals are part of the 43 challenges to the results of the elections last June which will be the subject of an in-depth examination by the Elders. Of 99 appeals registered at the national level in early July by the Constitutional Council, 56 were rejected.
The mission of the members of the Constitutional Council will be to establish whether, during the vote of June 12 and 19, irregularities likely to annul the election took place. “I inform you that my appeal has been deemed admissible and that it will therefore be the subject of a contradictory investigation. Case to follow, I will keep you informed!”wrote Laure Miller on her Facebook page.
The mention of the name of Emmanuel Macron on the ballots at the heart of the procedure
The two appeals of the Marnaise candidates concern the same point: the presence of the name of Emmanuel Macron on the ballots of the candidates of the majority, a statement prohibited by the Electoral code.
On June 12, Laure Miller saw the doors of the second round close right in front of her, eliminated by a delay of 249 votes over Anne-Sophie Frigout. The latter, a candidate for the National Rally, won the election a week later. But Laure Miller disputes these results because she had to reprint and distribute new professions of faith just days before the vote. On the first bulletins, it was written “official candidate of Emmanuel Macron“. However, it is forbidden to note more than two names on a ballot, that of the candidate and his alternate.
On the day of the vote, some voters slipped into the ballot box the old professions of faith, those which included the error. Their ballots were counted as “null”. According to the candidate, 965 “void” ballots bearing her name were counted by a bailiff. With these votes, Laure Miller would have finished first in the first round.
“The will of the electorate was not respected during the first round” – Laure Miller, June 20
Chantal Berthélémy relies on this same offense to challenge the results in the third constituency. Candidate Nupes came third in the first round, behind Éric Girardin (Ensemble) and Jennifer Marc (RN). “There are problems with Mr. Girardin’s ballot papers which do not comply with the Electoral Code since they include ‘Emmanuel Macron’s official candidate'”had underlined the candidate the evening of the first round on France Bleu.
The decision of the Constitutional Council will be published in the Official Journal. In the meantime, the procedure is not suspensive, which means that the elected deputies – in this case Anne-Sophie Frigout and Éric Girardin – continue to exercise their mandate.