No final judgment.
In a report made to the government on Monday, of which the Parisian had a copy, the Scientific Council does not clearly pronounce itself for or against a postponement of the regional and departmental elections scheduled for June.
"It is the sole responsibility of the political authorities to proceed in all democratic legitimacy to general assessments, which go beyond the only health aspects, as well as to the necessary arbitrations, which are eminently political when it comes to the organization of elections", indicates the Council. scientist.
“The risks linked to a resumption of the epidemic following the elections in the form of clusters cannot be excluded, without it being possible to quantify them precisely and scientifically.
It should be noted that by comparison with previous polls, the risks of contamination are now increased due to the high contagiousness of the UK variant, present throughout the territory ", warns the Scientific Council, which however tempers:" The At the same time, risks are reduced by the significant level of immunization achieved at the time of the electoral campaign and the elections.
"He stresses that in the event of a postponement," the risk of contamination would be appreciably lower than during the month of June due to a predictable level of vaccination which is significantly higher ".
A dematerialized campaign
If the elections are maintained in June, the Scientific Council however lists a series of recommendations to be followed.
“It is important to encourage as much as possible the use of dematerialized means during the electoral campaign.
It should be noted the possible use of hotlines and the interest of campaigns carried out on the Internet ", writes the Scientific Council which" recommends that gatherings, including outside, during electoral campaigns be prohibited.
"
He also strongly advises against “private meetings organized directly or indirectly by the candidates and their campaign teams”.
If the candidates have not been vaccinated, he recommends that they "carry out regular screening for SARS-CoV-2 according to the modalities which will be available throughout the duration of the campaign".
Be vaccinated or have been tested to attend the count
To hold the polling stations, the Scientific Council recommends, no longer young people, but vaccinated people, "that is to say older people because of the vaccination priorities".
“In the event that it is not possible to compose the polling station only of vaccinated people, it is recommended that the members of the polling stations carry out tests, whether they are RT-PCR, antigenic or self-test.
"
For the counting of the vote, the Scientific Council recommends a "distance of at least 1.5 meters between each stripping", hydroalcoholic gel available, wearing a mask ... "We could consider strict conditions to attend the count, and in particular that people have been vaccinated, immunized or have a test within 48 hours ”, continues the Council which considers that according to“ weather conditions ”, the counting can take place outside.
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Regarding the conduct of the vote, it must "take place over the largest possible time slot so that the flow of voters is spread throughout the day".
"Even if a curfew persists, it is recommended that an exceptional exemption to go to vote be provided for that day until the closing of the polling stations", writes the Scientific Council which proposes a "privileged time slot for vulnerable people, for example from 9 am to 12 noon, as was observed during the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia in Spain ”.
The same Council proposes a "spread over several days" of the poll.
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"Proxy voting should be encouraged," insists the Scientific Council, which would like each voter to have two proxies against one usually.
"Finally, the Scientific Council regrets that the digitization of votes and postal voting cannot be considered for these elections," the report concludes.
