The scientific council is not opposed to the holding of the second round of municipal elections in June, but judge necessary a new assessment of the sanitary conditions 15 days before the date of the election, according to the opinion of the government, and published on Tuesday. “This evaluation may then motivate, according to his results, a new interruption of the electoral process “, warns the scientific council in its report.
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The council, to which Edward Philip was asked at the end of march to prepare this document, considers that, if ” the health situation has improved significantly compared to the beginning of the containment “, ” it is difficult to anticipate an uncertain status for the coming weeks “. While the law declaring a state of public health emergency the march 23 deadline of the postponement of the second round at the end of June, the council considers that it is ” possible and necessary to secure the electoral process itself in order to reduce the risks that are associated with them “.
If this second round, which involves about 5 000 municipalities, could not be held to this deadline, it would then be necessary to reprogram the entire election (first and second round) in these cities. Gold, and then the virus could continue to circulate in the fall, “from a health point of view, the holding of a single round of voting rather than two, regardless of timing, is likely to reduce the health risks, in the statistical sense of the term,” notes the scientific council.
the fear of The rallies during election campaigns
If these arguments seem to plead for the organization of a second tour in June, the members of the board the sort of significant reserves. They warn against the “health risks” significant related to the election campaign, which would have to be ” profoundly amended “. In their viewfinder, the “meetings” electoral “as well as” actions of the candidates that have the effect of meetings or gatherings of physical (distribution of leaflets, door-to-door, public meetings, meetings of the apartment) “.
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” other terms and conditions of the campaign, certainly limited but equal for all the candidates, may be considered, including through the use of digital technology “, they argue recommending that ” the wearing of the mask and visor for all individuals participating in field operations “. Regarding the voting operations, the scientific council also advises easing in the preparation of powers of attorney, asking that ” the validity of proxies already established for the second round initially planned for 22 march will be extended “.
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Asked on France Info, the chair (LR) of the Senate Gérard Larcher, for his part, considered it “wise” that the government may ask a second opinion from scientists before taking on the second round. “We will see around the 2 June if the sanitary conditions allow the electoral process, which is a democratic process in which nobody should be excluded “, he stressed.
The president (LREM) of the national Assembly Richard Ferrand, france, for its part, considered that it was not “reasonable” to consider a vote as early as the end of June ” even as the campaigns cannot happen since you can’t gather more than ten people “. “You can hardly make the door-to-door hidden “, he observed.
