Highlights: First round this Sunday, April 16 of the territorial elections in French Polynesia. Some 209,000 voters are called upon to choose their 57 representatives in the Assembly from seven lists. Only two of them are supported by parties located in the five archipelagos of the territory. If the separatists win the elections, they will tend to ask either for a referendum on self-determination or to begin the decolonization of Polynesia, says Sémir Al Wardi, political scientist and lecturer in political science.

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Elections in French Polynesia: "The future of Polynesia within the framework of the Republic is at stake"

The Assembly of French Polynesia in Tahiti (illustration photo). AP - CLAUDE SAVRIACOUTY

Text by: Laura Martel

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First round this Sunday, April 16 of the territorial elections in French Polynesia. Some 209,000 voters are called upon to choose their 57 representatives in the Assembly from seven lists. But only two of them are supported by parties located in the five archipelagos of the territory and have a real chance of winning a majority: that of the outgoing president, the autonomist Edouard Fritch, from Tapura, and that of the separatist MP Moetai Brotherson, from Tavini. What's at stake? Sémir Al Wardi, political scientist and lecturer in political science at the University of French Polynesia, answers RFI's questions.

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RFI: How important is this local election for Polynesians?

This is practically the most important election because Polynesians will vote for the Assembly of French Polynesia, which is the local parliament, and the elected representatives will then elect the president of the Assembly, and then the president of Polynesia. But this president is the keystone of the institutions there, he is the one who has the most competences. He is elected for five years, he leads Polynesia with, in hand, two important tools: on the one hand an autonomy that gives him a lot of powers on the economic and social level; and on the other hand, there is what is called "legislative specialty". This means that the laws of the Republic do not apply, in general, in Polynesia and that the President, the Government and the Local Assembly take decisions that normally fall under the law in metropolitan France. Hence the importance of this election. There is also another dimension, namely that the left-right divide does not exist in Polynesia. It is rather an autonomist-separatist divide. And if the separatists win the elections, they will tend to ask either for a referendum on self-determination or to begin the decolonization of Polynesia. So obviously, this election is also important because the future of Polynesia within the framework of the Republic is at stake.

Why is the outcome of the election particularly uncertain this year?

We are witnessing a rejection of the power in place, the Tapura, by a part of the population, in all social groups. As much before, a power in place had a good chance of being re-elected, this time, we are waiting. We are in the framework of the Republic, which means that if the separatists win, it does not mean that we will go to independence. There should be a referendum on self-determination and the people would want that independence. However, we can say today that the separatists are a minority in Polynesia, and that if they ever vote mostly for the independence party, it is essentially to vote against the current power, but not necessarily for independence. During the Covid crisis, the government in place has not always respected the standards it had set, and this is criticized by the population. The second reason for rejection is a crystallization on the Minister of the Economy, who set up a social VAT just before the 2022 legislative elections which, according to economists, was not really necessary and who participated in inflation. This is also one of the elements that makes the power in place lost the legislative elections, since the three elected deputies are separatists [three seats in the French National Assembly are devolved to Polynesia, Editor's note].

What were the main themes on which the debates ahead of this election focused?

What is very interesting is that we did not talk about independence at all for several months. The first themes that emerged were the high cost of living, inflation and employment. So we were discussing discussions that were social and economic rather than political. But to everyone's surprise, about a week ago, the paradigm changed for the separatists since they started talking about independence, recourse to the UN, etc. It's new and, therefore, it will be interesting for the future, because there are a fortnight between the two rounds. And if the independence party maintains this new theme of independence in the campaign, it may lose votes for the reasons already mentioned: that is to say that the majority of Polynesians are not for independence. As the independence leader Oscar Temaru himself said, it is necessary to educate the Polynesian people so that they accept this emancipation, and therefore, we are far from it.

The second round of these territorial elections will take place on 30 April. The newly constituted Assembly will then elect the President of Polynesia on 10 May.

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Elections in French Polynesia: "The future of Polynesia within the framework of the Republic is at stake"

Elections in French Polynesia: "The future of Polynesia within the framework of the Republic is at stake"

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