A hiccup that could turn into a new election. This is what Jean-Marc Garnier, the RN candidate in the first constituency of Ariège, hopes in any case where this Sunday, Bénédicte Taurine, the outgoing deputy Nupes was re-elected. The departmental delegate of the National Rally decided to file an appeal on Monday before the Constitutional Council to contest the results of the first round.
On Sunday June 12, in some offices of the constituency where he was running, his ballots had been reversed with those of the RN candidate for the second constituency of Ariège. However, at the exit of the polls, the latter had obtained 6,229 votes, coming third behind the candidate Together!, Anne-Sophie Tribout, who had gathered 6,237 votes, with only eight votes in advance to qualify for the second round.
Invalid ballots in the name of the other RN candidate
“There are people behind these votes (considered invalid, editor’s note), I am not accusing anyone but in the meantime, there are people who have had the opportunity to express themselves and we are sweeping that away” , Jean-Marc Garnier told AFP.
Last Monday, the prefecture of Ariège had indicated that in the municipality of Tarascon-sur-Ariège, “out of 152 invalid ballots, 136 correspond to the presence, in the envelope, of a ballot in the name of Bérengère Carrié (candidate RN in the 2nd Legislative District)”. The state services had specified that this “inversion of the ballots between RN candidates, is due to the mixing of the ballots in the circled packets provided by the printer”.
Jean-Marc Garnier believes for his part that he would have “been in the second round” if the ballots in the name of the RN candidate from the other constituency had been counted in his favor. “It’s a matter of principle, and if we win, so much the better! Lost or won, the election must be clear and transparent,” he explains.
Discover the results of the second round of the 2022 legislative elections by city, department and constituency over 20 Minutes.