Olivier Taoumi, who claims to be the candidate of an alliance between the National Rally and the Republicans in the 1st constituency, is at the heart of a controversy. The electoral code imposes on members of the cabinet president of a territorial authority a one-year period of ineligibility for legislative or senatorial elections. This deadline was allegedly not respected, a version that the candidate refutes.
Is he eligible or not? For several years, Olivier Taoumi was cspecial advisor for legal and economic affairs within the Territorial Community from Guyana. A position he has not held since 2023, it is precisely the date of his departure that is at the heart of the controversy. The said contract ended on July 1, 2023, according to Gabriel Servillepresident of the CTG.
According to article LO132 of the electoral code, Olivier Taoumi, in his capacity as a former member of the council of the president of the CTG, would therefore be ineligible until 1is July 2024. However, the first vote will be held on June 29, 2024 in Guyana.
Here is what the law says:
“The holders of the following functions are ineligible in France in any constituency included in whole or in part in the jurisdiction in which they exercise or have exercised their functions for less than one year on the date of the election: (in 22°) The members of the office of the president of the regional council, the president of the Assembly of Corsica, the president of the executive council of Corsica, the president of the departmental council, the mayors of municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, the presidents of communities of municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, presidents of urban communities, presidents of urban communities and presidents of metropolises.
Electoral Code: Chapter III: Conditions of eligibility and ineligibility
But the candidate, who claims to be part of an LR/RN alliance, states that he no longer worked within the CTG on 1is July. As proof, he wants an email dated April 26, 2023 in which he writes: “I have decided not to attend or participate in any office meetings during this period and I will only be the lawyer for the CTG and I will only deal with litigation.“
He adds :
The text does not say “members of the cabinet are ineligible”, it is people who are exercising or who have exercised!
Olivier Taoumi, candidate for the legislative elections
But is an email enough in the eyes of the law?
No, according to Me. Patrick Lingibéelected member of the National Council of Bars and former President of the Bar of Guyana, to whom we put the question. In this situation, “even if you are a contractor, and the Council of State regularly reminds us of this, you are in a statutory and regulatory situation“, he said. And continued:
The administration has a mission of general interest. That is, you cannot decide for yourself to leave just like that. The departure must result from a formal administrative act, since the public authority in this case – whether territorial or state – is the one which determines the termination.
He takes the example of retirement, where a decree is necessary to leave, or even resignations, for which an administrative document must be recorded.
In the meantime, candidate Olivier Taoumi was able to submit his application to the prefecture and it was accepted. As a reminder, he had filed an appeal against the decree of June 9, 2024 relating to the summons of voters for the election of deputies to the National AssemblyThe lawyer pointed out the delay between the publication of the decree and the date of the first election, particularly in Guyana, which he considered too short. The appeal was also rejected by the Constitutional Council.
