They will govern the South Pacific community for five years. The separatists won the second round of territorial elections in Polynesia on Sunday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Twitter on Monday. With 44.2% of the vote, the list led by Oscar Temaru is ahead of that of outgoing President Edouard Fritch (38.5% of the vote) and obtains an absolute majority of 38 of the 57 seats in the Territorial Assembly.
This victory now places the separatists in a position of strength against the French state to negotiate a process of decolonization and a referendum on self-determination. “Polynesians voted for change. The Government takes note of this democratic choice, ”reacted Gérald Darmanin on Twitter. “We will work with the newly elected majority with commitment and rigor, to continue to improve the daily lives of our Polynesian fellow citizens”, added the Minister of the Interior.
MP Moetai Brotherson future president
The third list in attendance, that of the former autonomist vice-president Nuihau Laurey, won 17.1% of the votes, according to the count published by the High Commission on its website. The Tavini huiraatira party of Oscar Temaru, which is due to present MP Moetai Brotherson for the presidency of the future government on May 10, benefited from a large part of the votes carried over from the parties eliminated in the first round of the ballot on April 16, which all campaigned against the incumbent president. His list came first with 34.9%, against 30.46% for the autonomist list of Edouard Fritch and 14.53% for the other autonomist list of Nuihau Laurey.
Clearly beaten, Edouard Fritch, 71, first paid the price for his government’s poor communication during the Covid epidemic. Despite a rather positive economic balance sheet, the high inflation suffered by Polynesia in 2022 (8.5%) was also attributed to it by part of the opinion, because it introduced a new VAT to preserve Social Security local.
New setback for the autonomists
Moetai Brotherson, 51, campaigned on the abolition of this tax and more generally on purchasing power. He spoke little about independence and was able to seduce beyond this electorate, capitalizing on the rejection of Edouard Fritch. The independence party had already won the three seats of deputies devolved to Polynesia in the legislative elections of June 2022, inflicting on the separatists the most severe defeat in their history in this election.
Set up in 2013 to put an end to the political instability that has been shaking Polynesia since 2004, the voting system grants a high bonus to the list that comes first, which guarantees it three-quarters of the seats.