Parliamentary elections in France: an analysis of electoral statistic

This article studies the electoral statistics of the first and second rounds of France’s parliamentary elections, held in June 2017. It discusses the role of the electoral system (including the utilization of two rounds, and allowing only candidates with more than 12.5% of registered voters to participate in the second round) in the success of the Pro-presidential coalition (consisting of the parties “Forward, Republic!” and “Democratic Movement”), which received 61% of the seats with the support of just 32% of voters. It analyzes the results of the second round depending on the results of the first round and the party composition of the runoff. The reformation of the party system of France is discussed in connection with the results of the second round. It is noted that the presidential elections, held in May 2017, have destroyed the two-coalition model, which was traditional for the Fifth Republic. However, the main contents of the second round of parliamentary elections was the confrontation between the Pro-presidential coalition and the “Republicans”, with the latter achieving significant progress in the second round. Thus, in the wake of parliamentary elections, it can be said that the two-coalition model has been preserved with the “Forward, Republic!” party replacing the left coalition headed by the Socialists. It is noted that the turnout at the parliamentary elections was the lowest in the entire history of the Fifth Republic. The reasons for the decline in voter turnout in France’s parliamentary elections are analyzed. It is concluded that this is related to voter fatigue after the presidential campaign and a sense of predetermination of election results.

About the author: Arkadiy Lyubarev – Candidate of Sciencies (Ph.D.) in Law, expert, Russian Free Elections Fund, Moscow, Russia.

Citation: Lyubarev A. (2017) Parlametskie vybory vo Fratsii 2017 goda: analiz elektoral’noy statistiki [Parliamentary elections in France: an analysis of electoral statistic] Sravnitel’noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.6, pp.13–23. (In Russian).

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