According to the French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, two cats have registered as voters for the council elections of conservative republicans. It proved that party members could vote multiple times without much effort, the newspaper reported on Sunday. A source within the party told the newspaper: “Technically, you are entitled to three votes per person. There are fake members everywhere.”
According to the report, an internal Conservative Party document states that members’ identities will only be verified if personal information, such as an address or phone number, is used four or more times for different members. The number of supporters increased significantly in the run-up to the council election.
The newspaper itself registered the two cats with the data of a journalist who became a member of the trial. At no point were identities checked. The party did not initially respond to a request.
Result Sunday night
Some 91,000 members of France’s former People’s Party have been called since Saturday night to elect a new board. A result is expected after Sunday night’s vote count. The favorite is deputy Éric Ciotti, from the right of the party. Also running are liberal-conservative senator Bruno Retailleau and general secretary Aurélien Pradié, representatives of the social right. If none of the three wins an absolute majority, the party wants to hold a second round next weekend.
According to a report on the “Mediapart” platform, there was already a dog on the electoral lists during the internal selection of the conservative candidate for the presidential campaign.