Does Covid-19 threaten the 2022 presidential election? Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Monday that a commission on the organization of the election would “undoubtedly” be convened by the Minister of the Interior, in the presence of all political parties, against the backdrop of a health crisis.
Gérald Darmanin “will undoubtedly bring together a commission, a bit like we had done for the regional and cantonal elections, involving all the political formations”, explained the Prime Minister, at the end of a Council for the defense of health and ‘a Council of Ministers dedicated to the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in France.
A date not yet fixed
This commission will allow us to “agree on rules which are obviously protective in relation to the health situation but which take into account the specificity of this fundamental activity, that is to say ultimately the exercise of democracy”, he added, during a press conference in Matignon.
“The date has not yet been set,” said Monday the entourage of the Minister of the Interior, specifying that the meeting of the commission would necessarily take place after a meeting with the President of the Constitutional Council Laurent Fabius, scheduled for early January. Gérald Darmanin “made a request for an appointment” to Laurent Fabius, the entourage had indicated on Wednesday.
No plan to postpone the election
The minister presented a text which modifies the organization of the presidential election and the electoral code in order to facilitate the proxy process, in particular in favor of a voter who is not registered on the same electoral list as himself.
No postponement of the presidential election of April 2022 is “neither on the table, nor below the table, nor in the cupboard next to the table,” had insisted Gabriel Attal Wednesday at the end of the Council of ministers.
Jean Castex also specified that the meetings of the electoral campaign would not be affected by the measurement measures imposed on large gatherings. “Political and electoral activities are subject to specific provisions in our constitutional law which provide them (…) even stronger protection, so it is clear that the measures that I announced this (Monday) evening do not concern meetings political ”, he underlined.