In a public decision issued this Wednesday, January 26, the Administrative Court of Bordeaux canceled the departmental elections of June 20 and 27, 2021 in the canton of Bordeaux-3 (Caudéran), after an appeal filed by two candidates rejected in the first round, Dominique David and Xavier Loustaunau (Republic on the move). Reason: the invalidation finally deemed illegal of 169 ballots in their favor, stating that Xavier Loustaunau was a former member of Alain Juppé’s cabinet. Géraldine Amouroux and Gérald Carmona, departmental councilors of the canton, decided to appeal to the Council of State.

Their appeals paid off. Dominique David speaks of “a victory for democracy”. The Administrative Court of Bordeaux has just canceled the electoral operations which took place on June 20 and 27, 2021 in the canton of Bordeaux-3 for the appointment of departmental advisers.

MP LREM (Republic on the move) and her partner Xavier Loustaunau finished third in the first round. Credited with 23.85% of the votes, they were excluded from the second round after the cancellation of 169 ballot papers in their favor, on the grounds that they mentioned the name of a person other than that of the candidates.

Indeed, the function of Xavier Loustaunau was specified as “former member of Alain Juppé’s cabinet”. These ballots had been returned to the voters’ homes by the candidates, before their irregularity was noted and new ballots were made available to voters in the polling stations.

Canton Bordeaux 3 was won by Les Républicains Géraldine Amouroux and Gérald Carmona, after a duel in the second round against Clément Jeandet and Françoise Julien (Gironde in common).

“A rare fact”

The court revealed that “such a statement could not in this case have misled the voters about the identity of the candidates, Mr. Alain Juppé notoriously no longer being an actor in political life nor expressed during the election campaign, and the mention “former member of the cabinet” being sufficiently explicit”.

“Moreover, it does not follow from the investigation that the sending of the litigious ballots to the homes of voters and their use by some of them constituted in itself a fraudulent maneuver”, insofar as the two candidates “had seized the propaganda commission, which had not invalidated the ballots concerned and that they had urgently had new ballots printed as soon as they were informed of their irregularity” can be read in the decision of the court.

In a press release published on January 26, Dominique David recalled the “good faith” of justice:

“In this period of high abstention, these manipulations and small agreements between friends come to dismiss candidates who threaten pensions, are more unacceptable than ever. The cancellation of an exam is a rare event. But, in this case, it can be considered a victory for our democracy. »

During the first round, 260 votes were calculated as zero in the canton of Bordeaux 3, the highest figure of the five Bordeaux cantons.

The winning pair appeals

Contacted by Rue89 Bordeaux, Géraldine Amouroux, already elected to the canton of Bordeaux 3 in 2015 with Pierre Lothaire, and re-elected in 2021 alongside Gérald Carmona, confirmed the pair’s choice to appeal the decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Bordeaux to of the Council of State:

“We dispute the elements developed, those which affect the same validity of the bulletins. Article L 53-3 of the electoral code specifies that the name of a third party cannot be entered on a ballot paper. What is more, the litigious bulletins were reprinted without mentioning the name of Alain Juppé. Our election is not to be called into question, we won it with probity. »

In addition, the departmental councilor observes that the mention of the name of the former mayor of Bordeaux on a ballot paper is not a trivial decision, “especially in a district like Caudéran”. Pending the decision of the Council of State, Géraldine Amouroux and Gérald Carmona, “Serene about the future”, retain their seats on the Departmental Council.

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