“Is it normal for people not to be residents of the constituency where they are running? Is parachuting in 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 particular constituency. But it sometimes happens that some people run in a department or constituency foreign to where they live. Is this allowed? What does the Electoral Code say? West France answers you.
To be able to stand for legislative elections, you must be at least 18 years old, have French nationality and not be ineligible. It is not obligatory to be attached to a political party. But in the Electoral Code, Dominica, nothing prevents a candidate from running in a constituency other than his place of life or city of origin. The deputies in fact 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 have 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.
Also read: 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.
