Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Macron’s Camp Urges Voter Participation while Set to Win Big in Election

Macron’s Camp Urges Voter Participation while Set to Win Big in Election

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party has urged voters who had stayed away to cast their vote in the second and final round of the country's parliamentary election after winning a sweeping majority in the first round on Sunday.
Final results released by the Interior Ministry have shown that Macron's party The Republic On The Move (LREM) and its ally MoDem took a big lead in the parliamentary election's first round, with 32.32 percent of the ballots cast, suggesting the novice president's camp is on course to land an absolute majority in the lower house of parliament in a runoff.
Alone, LREM garnered 28.21 percent of the votes, making a majority with more than 400 seats in reach for the multiform movement that Macron had created only one year ago.
However, fewer than half of the 47 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round, the lowest level by far in a legislative election in the fifth Republic, raising concerns that the low turnout would weaken Macron's advantage.
The lower turnout was mainly attributed to two major reasons -- too intensive election arrangements, and the public's doubt over the French-style democracy and its effectiveness.
Since July 2016, French voters have seen major election activities in the country in less than one year, such as preliminary elections of candidates by various political parties, followed by two rounds of nationwide general presidential elections. (Xinhua)