Thunderbolt in Lourdios-Ichère.
The 90 votes cast for the second round of the 2022 presidential election in this small town in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques were canceled by the Constitutional Council after the staging of Jean Lassalle.
The presidential candidate, filmed in front of the ballot box at the Lourdios-Ichère polling station, had changed his mind by declaring himself an “abstentionist at the ballot box”.
In detail, 52 people had voted for Emmanuel Macron and 38 for Marine Le Pen.
12 voters had also voted blank, while there were three invalid votes – the vote cast corresponds to a vote which can be duly recorded because it is not blank and not invalid.
The participation rate of this small town of a hundred inhabitants was 80.15%.
Abstainer.
Explanations ➡️ https://t.co/QoLouRgpa9 pic.twitter.com/T24jx6vl4s
— Jean Lassalle (@jeanlassalle) April 24, 2022
The Constitutional Council, which had been seized, considers that the deputy of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and former mayor of the commune broke the rules.
He "disregarded the provisions of Article L. 49 of the Electoral Code prohibiting the dissemination of messages of an electoral propaganda nature the day before and on election day and, on the other hand, by his behavior, undermined the respect due to the dignity of the electoral operations in which he took part as a candidate in the first round", one can read in the proclamation of the results of the election of the President of the Republic published on the website of the Constitutional Council.
20,594 votes canceled in France
“These actions have, given the notoriety of Mr. Lassalle in the municipality of Lourdios-Ichère and his quality as deputy and former mayor, were likely to alter the sincerity of the ballot in this municipality”, estimate the Wise Men .
This decision to cancel the votes cast on Sunday in Lourdios-Ichère (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) was taken by the Constitutional Council "independently of any criminal proceedings that may be initiated".
Criminally, Jean Lassalle risks a fine of 15,000 euros and one year of imprisonment according to article L113 of the electoral code.
Three days after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron as head of state, the President of the Constitutional Council, Laurent Fabius, unveiled the official results of the second round of the presidential election on Wednesday.
He also pointed out certain irregularities: 20,594 votes cast, or 0.06% of the total votes cast, were thus cancelled.