“Is it normal for people not to be residents of the constituency where they are running? Is the airdrop of external candidates allowed? “, Dominique asks us.
For the legislative elections, which will be held on June 30 and July 7, 2024, each candidate is running for a specific constituency. But sometimes some candidates run in a department or constituency outside their place of residence. Is this allowed? What does the Electoral Code say? West France answers you.
To be able to run in the legislative elections, it is mandatory to be at least 18 years old, to have French nationality and not to be ineligible. It is not mandatory to be attached to a political party. But in the Electoral Code, Dominique, nothing prevents a candidate from running in a constituency other than his place of residence or city of origin. The deputies actually represent the nation as a whole and therefore not only the department in which they are elected.
What is called “parachuting” is therefore regularly criticized by candidates living in the constituency, but nothing can prohibit doing it. “It is not necessary for candidates to prove a residential or tax connection with the legislative constituency in which they are running, nor for them to appear on the electoral list of one of the municipalities in the legislative constituency,” confirms the Electoral Code.
Read also: Legislative elections. Many candidates, political returns, non-aggression pacts
It should be noted, however, that this residence condition is mandatory for other elections, such as local elections for example, which allow the election of the mayor of a commune or town.
