“It really wasn’t reasonable”: the MoDem candidate in the 8th constituency of the Rhône, Dominique Despras, announced Tuesday evening that he was withdrawing his candidacy more than an hour after it was made official, to avoid a four-way race. “Because we maintain a spirit of responsibility and a republican spirit, we have decided to withdraw our candidacy,” the candidate announced in a publication on the social network Facebook.
The Mont-Dore constituency, northwest of Lyon, had been held by the right for a quarter of a century, but the outgoing LR MP Nathalie Serre only came in fourth place on Sunday, nevertheless qualifying with 20.66% of the vote.
National Rally candidate Jonathan Gery came out on top with 33.46% of the vote, followed by New Popular Front (NPF) candidate Anne Reymbaut (22.75%) and Dominique Despras (21.18%).
“Nothing official”
“I found it really wasn’t reasonable to go back to the quadrangular,” he explained to AFP. “I thought that Ms. Serre was going to withdraw, when I saw that she hadn’t, I decided not to send the documents and the profession of faith.”
The Rhône prefecture confirmed that Dominique Despras had indeed come in the afternoon to submit his candidacy. “He withdrew after 6 p.m., so on paper, it’s too late, he’s a candidate,” a prefectural source explained to AFP. “He announced that he was withdrawing around 7:30 p.m., it’s not official.”
“This is quite unique,” the prefecture noted, indicating that the candidate was not going to provide his ballot papers, thus mechanically preventing voters from voting for him. “Nothing is rational in politics,” commented Dominique Despras. “As of now, I am back on my tractor, and that does not pose a problem for me.”
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