the essential
After the headache of the 38 billboards for the European elections, the mayors of the communes and towns of Lot are trying to organize themselves as best they can, in haste, for the legislative elections.
Move or cancel events, find scrutineers, manage the influx of proxies as well as calls… After the European elections, the mayors of Gindou and Gourdon face a new challenge: the organization of legislative elections. “The work and the problems that these elections pose have not been measured,” exclaims Jean-Marie Courtin, mayor of Gourdon.
Events that fall through?
With or without the elections, the mayors of the Lot municipalities must carry out “their usual work”. The summer period is marked by votive festivals which, with the legislative elections on Sunday June 30 and July 7, are disrupted. “Some have their village festival on election day! They had to call the prefecture to find out how to organize themselves, particularly for the rooms,” says Mireille Figeac, mayor of the commune of Gindou and president of the Cazals-Salviac community of communes. “If I had my votive celebration on these dates, I certainly would not have canceled it! “, she continues.
In Gourdon, the problem is similar. The eight polling stations are dispersed in separate locations. Gymnasium, town hall, community house or even village halls which, for the most part, were rented on these dates. “We were forced to cancel events planned by residents. Some understood and were waiting for our call but some didn’t care at all. Unfortunately, we cannot dislodge the polling stations,” testifies Jean-Marie Courtin. The Association of Mayors of France, however, informed last Thursday of an exceptional exemption in the context of these elections: the change of voting locations can be made until the opening of the electoral campaigns. A decision which must, once again, be made hastily.
Secretaries under pressure
“The two secretaries of civil status, who normally deal with identity cards, passports and deaths, must also take care of elections,” explains Jean-Marie Courtin. Finding the poll workers, preparing the ballot boxes, answering calls from residents who wish to register on the electoral lists when the date has already passed… “It’s tiring! », confides the mayor of Gourdon. Mireille Figeac agrees with the same observation: “It’s a lot of responsibilities for secretaries when there isn’t a lot of time. In fact, it’s not over yet, we already have to start again. »
An additional workload upstream but also on election day. “For some, it’s three half-days that they will have devoted to the elections. They are fed up,” testifies Jean-Marie Courtin. For now, he has still not found all of his scrutineers. The only advantage is that, this time, they are sure not to run out of billboards: “Let’s say that at least we have space. There it is sure, for the displays we will have no problem! », concludes, in a mocking tone, the mayor of Gindou.
