The first round of the parliamentary elections in France was held on Sunday.
Opinion polls depict that the far right could actually turn victorious in the two-round legislative vote. It is on July 7 that these rounds will end.
Here we explain a bit about the snap elections in France.
The Voting
There are about 49 million registered voters in France. There exists a total of 577 constituency contests. One is there for every seat in the National Assembly, that is, the lower house of the parliament.
Candidates holding an absolute majority of votes in the constituency are actually elected in the very first round. In several cases, no candidate is able to meet this set of criteria. In situations like these, a second round is often conducted.
In order to make the run-off, it is required by the candidates to get the first round votes to a minimum of 12.5 percent of the registered voters.
The second round is won by the top scorer.
The announcement of results
The voting for the first round is to come to an end on Sunday at 8 p.m.
It is at this time that the pollsters bring forward their countrywide projections on the basis of a partial vote count. These can be trusted in most cases. The official results start coming forward from over 8 p.m.
The vote counting typically is done quickly and efficiently.
Now, the prime minister is named by the president. This president is chosen generally from the party holding the most seats.
In the post-war history of France, the far right could actually get victorious for the very first time, as suggested by the opinion polls. With this, the left-wing union would be seen being the second-biggest group. The centrist alliance may come third.
The elections in France this time are unique. The campaign time given is short. Moreover, there seem big changes in the electoral landscape as well.
The paralyzed assembly has been divided into three distinct groups this time. Among these three groups, none is dominating the other. The requirement for an absolute majority is a minimum of 289 seats.
The National Rally by Marine Le Pen could actually run a minority government in case it secures the most seats sans touching the threshold. Jordan Bardella, the leader of the party expressed that the party wished for an absolute majority, or would be unable to carry out the reforms.
There has been cohabitation of three periods in France where the government and the president belong to different political stripes.
On the domestic front, it is the government that holds a majority of the power. However, it is the president who is the head of the military and wields influence.
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