The election of the deputy for French nationals living abroad Karim Ben Cheikh invalidated – Jeune Afrique

Friday, January 20, the Constitutional Council invalidated the election of the MP for the ninth constituency of French people living abroad (Maghreb and West Africa), Karim Ben Cheikhelected on June 19 with 54% of the vote against Emmanuel Macron’s former minister, Elisabeth Moreno.

The Constitutional Council considered that a technical error during the online vote is likely to have “prevented several thousand voters from taking part in the vote in the first round”, and likely to have “damaged the sincerity of the ballot “.

To vote online, voters must indeed register and then wait for the receipt of a first confirmation SMS, before receiving another inviting them to take part in the vote. However, in Algeria, one of the two main reservoirs of votes in the constituency, the rate of reception of these messages was only 38%. A circumstance which “is not attributable either to the elected candidate, nor to the other candidates”, notes the Constitutional Council, but sufficient according to him to “cancel the disputed electoral operations”.

On the occasion of the legislative elections of 2022, the constituencies of French people living abroad served as a sort of experimental laboratory for online voting, the latter aiming to encourage participation and facilitate procedures for citizens living in areas away from embassies and consulates.

A new vote within three months

Following the invalidation, the regulations provide for the holding of new elections within the next three months. The former diplomat, rallied to the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes, union of the left), had joined the ranks of the Finance Committee and headed the France-Morocco friendship group at the National Assembly.

In a press release, Karim Ben Cheihk announced to “take note” of this decision and immediately cease his activities as a parliamentarian, while claiming to have himself observed “punctual failures of electronic voting”.

While no election date has yet been set, the name of his predecessor, M’jid El Guerrab, is already mentioned as a potential candidate. As a reminder, the former deputy was sentenced on May 12, 2022 to three years in prison and two years of ineligibility for the attack on his former socialist comrade Boris Faure.

The two men concluded a transactional agreement last fall, in which M’jid El Guerrab admitted its responsibility and paid civil reparations. The latter will however plead his case before the Court of Appeal, considering that the sentence pronounced by the Paris court is “disproportionate”. The former elected majority was also preparing to begin distance learning with a business school based at London.