So far low turnout in the second round of the French presidential election – POLITICO
Turnout was low as France went to the polls on Sunday in the second round of its presidential election, which pits incumbent Emmanuel Macron against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.
Figures released by the country’s Interior Ministry show that as of 12 p.m. local time 26.4 percent of voters had cast a vote — about two percentage points fewer than that 28.2 Percent registered up to this point in the last election in 2017, when Macron finally won on the second ballot.
Attendance to date is just above a record low of 26.2 percent at this point in 2002.
The polling stations close at 8 p.m., which is when the first election polls are published.
In a repeat of the 2017 election, Macron is again up against Le Pen. Both emerged as the two best candidates in the first ballot on April 10th.
No incumbent French president has been re-elected since Jacques Chirac in 2002, but according to POLITICO’s poll, Macron could win 55 percent of the vote in the second round, 10 points ahead of Le Pen.
The results of today’s election may depend on turnout: Earlier this month, 26 percent of eligible voters did not turn out on the first ballot. The perception of Macron as the inevitable winner can hurt voter turnout, and it doesn’t help that elections in different parts of the country coincide with school holidays.
Almost 49 million people are eligible to vote in today’s election.
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https://www.politico.eu/article/low-turnout-so-far-in-second-round-of-french-presidential-vote/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication So far low turnout in the second round of the French presidential election – POLITICO