The camps of the two contenders for the post of first secretary of the Socialist Party, accusing each other of irregularities in the votes, announced Thursday evening appeals and requests for cancellations of votes.
Crisis in sight Socialist Party: the duel between the outgoing Olivier Faure and his rival, the mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, reached a climax on the night of Thursday to Friday, when they both claimed to have won the ballot appointing the next first secretary of the socialist party. The situation is grotesque: around 1:30 a.m., Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol announced his victory to the press, followed a few minutes later by Olivier Faure on YouTube. “We won this result with 53.47% of the votes out of 90% of those counted”said the elected Norman, adding that the gap with his competitor was not “more recoverable”. Activists “expressed this evening, by a clear vote, their desire to continue the rally of the left and environmentalists by renewing their confidence in me”assured for his part Olivier Faure.
The two camps, accusing each other of irregularities in the votes, have already announced appeals and requests for cancellations of votes in sections. A results commission is to meet on Friday.
“Methods that we have seen too many across the Atlantic”
According to the number 2 of the PS, Corinne Narassiguin, Olivier Faure arrived slightly ahead of the vote, around 52%, according to the first trends relating to “more than 50% of the federations representing more than 50% of the voters”. Those are “the only real numbers that can be compiled”assured the representative of the outgoing candidate, Pierre Jouvet, denouncing a “unacceptable destabilization” from the opposing side, and “methods that we have seen too many across the Atlantic”in an allusion to Donald Trump’s never-recognized defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. “Olivier Faure won the ballot with certainty”he insisted.
Conversely, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol affirms that even if some federations more favorable to Olivier Faure were not yet stripped, he would obtain in the worst case 50.5% of the votes. The mayor of Rouen also asks “the cancellation of a certain number of results”, due to litigation. He asks in particular the cancellation of those of the section of Liévin (Pas-de-Calais, approximately 300 votes), where tellers would have been expelled from the polling station by the municipal police. Corinne Narassiguin had explained a little earlier that these tellers were not on the lists sent to the polling stations. “People are trying to discredit this election”denounces the number 2 of the party.
“Death threats” and “intimidation”
A little earlier, the outgoing management had reported the aggression of five young socialists, who came as scrutineers in front of a polling station in Elbeuf (Seine-Maritime), a section close to Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol. These scrutineers were “death threats”a “intimidation” which would suggest, according to her, a link with the current vote. Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol asked for a denial of these “innuendo”.
The winner will be officially inducted at a congress in a week in Marseille. The result could have consequences for the agreement concluded in May 2022 for the legislative elections with LFI, EELV and the PCF. This alliance has made it possible to keep a group of 32 socialist deputies in the National Assembly, despite the historic failure in the presidential election of candidate Anne Hidalgo (1.7%). But it deeply divided the PS. Olivier Faure defends his left-wing alliance strategy “exclusively”, the only way according to him to block the right and the far right in 2027. Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, more reserved on this agreement, does not hide his reluctance vis-à-vis the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He has the support of the third candidate, the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin Hélène Geoffroy, clearly hostile to the Nudes.
battle of numbers
A battle of figures is to be expected for Friday, as during the vote of the militants on the text of orientation last Thursday, intended to determine the balance of power in the authorities of the party. The members then placed Olivier Faure in the lead with 49.15% of the vote, against 30.51% for Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, and 20.34% for Hélène Geoffroy. In the polling station of the Pantin section, Djamel Benmokhtar, member for 7 years, chose Olivier Faure, “who can put the PS back on track”estimating that the Nudes, “we should have done it before”. “The party is very sick”emphasizes for his part Abdou N., a member since “over 20 years”who voted “for the party to be invigorated”and considers that it is necessary “gather all the left”.
Supported by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, the president of Occitanie Carole Delga and the ex-president François Hollande, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol claims to be the only one who can bring together, on a “Center Lane”. For Olivier Faure, the results of the first vote prove that only 20% of members voted against Nupes, confirming his line. “Will the 80% of members who voted against the rollback vote Thursday for the return of the elephants?”, who are largely behind Hélène Geoffroy, he asked on Monday. His entourage claims that he already has“an absolute majority in the national council” (sort of training parliament, editor’s note), thanks to the support of at least 60 first federal secretaries, who account for a third in the composition of the council. This is a projection, the vote of the first federals will not take place until February.