The scientific council is not opposed to the organization of the second round of municipal elections in June. The announcement was made in a report released Monday, May 18. He nevertheless recommends very strict sanitary conditions and requests a situation update 15 days before the chosen date.
In Dijon, François Rebsamen welcomes this. Arrived quite widely at the head of the 1st round on March 15, 2020 with a little more than 38% of the votes, he still occupies his office at the town hall of Dijon. But as an outgoing mayor. And he would like to quickly find all of his skills. It is impossible, for example, to vote for costly measures without the approval of an elected municipal council.
“If we want our country to start again, elections must be held as quickly as possible, obviously respecting health rules!” – François Rebsamen
A few days ago, François Rebsamen therefore co-signed a forum with many mayors of large cities to request the organization of the poll in June. “If we want our country to leave, elections must be held as quickly as possible, obviously respecting health rules! sums up the outgoing mayor. 70% of public investment is us! These are the local communities. If we want to be there for a big recovery plan, we are ready! I spoke to the minister about a thermal renovation of buildings, it would be a greening of the economy. It is still necessary that we have the legal and political means! “
According to the outgoing mayor, there is no guarantee that a postponement of the elections in September or October would not experience the same difficulties. “Nothing says there would be no second wave! “ he noted, adding that he believed a delay in the fall would require reorganizing the two rounds of the election.
Avoid replaying the 2 rounds
Replay the 2 rounds of the election? No question for Stéphanie Modde. The EELV candidate came in third position with 15% of the votes. “The idea is still that we can avoid redoing this election entirely, that is to say 1st and second round, she believes. It would be a real headache. Without thinking about the financial cost and the energy to find. “
Unsurprisingly, according to the head of the environmental list, “The health issue” will take precedence over the organization. “We are coming out of containment. It would be really harmful to have to return to this confinement. Everything must be in place, if the sanitary conditions allow it to avoid adding to what we just went through. “
“The proposal I am making is simple. It is to ask publicly that we introduce the possibility of voting by mail.” – Emmanuel Bichot
To reduce the health risk, Emmanuel Bichot, head of the list for the right-wing second with nearly 20% of the vote, made a proposal. “It is to publicly ask for the possibility of voting by mail. ” To guarantee “More satisfactory conditions”, he asked that voters have the choice of going to the polls to vote or sending a sealed envelope containing their ballot. “I think that would protect us from all the vagaries of the evolution of the epidemic that, necessarily, nobody can control today. “
The postal vote exists for the legislative elections of the representatives of the French abroad but not, for example for their votes with the presidential one. Its application at the municipal level therefore seems complicated without changing the law.
What campaign?
For the candidates, there is obviously no question of a meeting! Even towing on the markets seems complicated. “This is going to be a very special campaign” concedes Stéphanie Modde. She is campaigning for a very short campaign focused on sending official propaganda materials. “Everything will have to be done to ensure that no one is contaminated between the press releases and the distribution of official documents. There may also be televised or radio debates. It will be very short but we should have had a campaign of a few days anyway ” notes that which is still assistant to the mayor of Dijon.
“The goal is that we can start a real democratic debate, that we can finish these municipal elections and consider the post-covid” – Stéphanie Modde
On the right, Emmanuel Bichot is also considering a capagne “shorter“and “adapted to the circumstances”. Arriving second, 18 points behind the outgoing mayor, he wants to believe that all is not played. “A second round is a different election” says Emmanuel Bichot. “Democracy must not remain confined! I remind you that in the first round, in Dijon, participation dropped by half. Many people did not feel safe to vote. This must be avoided. Democratic legitimacy also goes through this. “
For her part, the ecological candidate hopes that the current crisis will convince more voters. For Stéphanie Modde, the question is to know “How are we going to look at the post-covid? The goal is that we can go back to a real democratic debate, that we can finish these municipal elections so that we can move on to something else. And in particular how we envisage economic recovery, under what conditions and with the ecological transition that we want to bring as quickly as possible to France. “
VIDEO: Watch the report in Dijon
Marie Jolly and Romy o-A-Chuck’s report in Dijon
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Speakers:
- François Rebsamen, Mayor of Dijon (PS)
- Stéphanie Modde, EELV candidate
- Emmanuel Bichot, LR candidate
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