Municipal elections, a never-ending story. This Thursday, all morning, the administrative tribunal of Montreuil examines the appeals for annulment filed against the ballots of five municipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis where the election was played in the first round: Aulnay-sous-Bois, Tremblay- in France, Epinay-sur-Seine, Villetaneuse, as well as Le Pré-Saint-Gervais.
According to our information, with regard to the latter, the public rapporteur requested the cancellation of the ballot. We could therefore have to vote again during 2021, if the judges follow the opinion of the public prosecutor.
No decision before December 3
Following the hearing, the deliberation will be given at best on December 3, and even after if the lawyers of one or the other party bring new elements in this written procedure, that is to say in the argument which has already been formalized by each council.
In Pré-Saint-Gervais, it was an appeal from Delphine Debord’s “citizen list” which convinced the public prosecutor to request the cancellation of the ballot. What happened? 42 ballot papers from the citizens’ list, put under cover before the day of the vote – Covid-19 organization requires – were finally deemed invalid during the count.
The European nationality of a candidate did not appear, although the law requires it. Delphine Debord, in an emergency, had ballot papers printed, but some bad voting documents found their way into the circuit – even though the authorities were warned.
But on the day of the vote, 42 ballots were not counted. However, the mayor Laurent Baron (PS) was elected by… 7 votes in advance. But if the 42 discarded ballots had not been, Laurent Baron would perhaps not have reached 50.19% of the votes, ie the absolute majority. And a second round would have been organized.
There remains one question: the socialist mayor came out on top with 1,807 votes, while his first pursuer, the various left-wing Grégoire Roger, obtained only 708 votes, followed by Mariama Lescure (370 votes). In the event of a new election, would the left manage to unite in the first round to allow a minimum of suspense?
Contacted, Delphine Debord, supported by LFI at the head of its citizen list, at the origin of the appeal, does not comment. But is pleased that “the law can be a winner in this election”.
Mayor Laurent Baron (PS) is “not worried”
For his part, Laurent Baron said “not to have any concerns” about the outcome of these administrative disputes. “I’m a Republican, I’ll do what the judges tell me to do. In the meantime, I am at work, there is a unique and global health crisis which concerns us. I’m all for it. “
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Across Seine-Saint-Denis, just over ten appeals were deemed admissible by the courts for the municipalities that elected their mayor in the first round. In all, the tribunal had received nearly twenty. For cities having had to organize a second round, “more than ten” appeals, according to a source in court, were deemed admissible and will be judged. Result: the hearings will last until 2021.
In Villetaneuse, Aulnay, Tremblay, Epinay, the public prosecutor requests the dismissal of the appeals
The Montreuil administrative court will study this Thursday several appeals filed after the last municipal elections.
In Villetaneuse, where Dieunor Excellent (SE) had overthrown the Communists in place for a century, the former PCF mayor Carinne Juste contests the verdict of the ballot box. But the public rapporteur should request the rejection of his request.
What does this remedy say? Dieunor Excellent had, on March 15, achieved an absolute majority of nearly eight votes. However, the Communist list points in its grievances “a last minute propaganda” during the end of the campaign, evoking in particular a pro-Excellent leaflet published the day before the day of the vote, as well as “pressure near the voters”. And this, in a context of the Covid-19 crisis where voters did not travel much, also recalled the beaten councilor.
When contacted, Dieunor Excellent did not comment on the appeal. But announces that his campaign accounts, pointed out by the opposition, have been “validated by the authorities”.
In Tremblay-en-France, the appeal of Emmanuel Naud, who was a candidate against outgoing mayor (FG) François Asensi, also did not convince the public prosecutor, who requested its rejection.
The left denounces “soliciting” operations in Aulnay
Ditto in Aulnay-sous-Bois, where it is the left list assembled Aulnay in common that filed an appeal. About which the prosecution should request a dismissal. Among the complaints, the fact that the municipality of Bruno Beschizza (LR) would never have allowed them to consult the results of the election office by office, preventing a pluralist look at the ballot. Also mentioned in the appeal are alleged “soliciting” operations on the part of pro-town hall agents, or even the use of electoral lists to send leaflets in a foreign language to residents according to the consonance of their name.
In Epinay-sur-Seine, the two appeals filed by the LREM and LFI lists did not convince the public rapporteur of the administrative court either. They related, among other things, to the presumed invalid campaign documents of the outgoing centrist mayor Hervé Chevreau.
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