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INPRIMATU
Ipar Euskal Herria: Despite having won the highest number of votes, the three seats are not guaranteed by the New Popular Front
  • The composition for the second round has been unveiled, with the manomanist in the fifth constituency (Baiona area) and three candidates in the fourth (Zuberoa, Baxenabarre, Hazparne and Bearne) and in the sixth (Lapurdi part). In view of the voting slogans and the political tendencies of people who have been left out of the competition, strong competition is expected. However, unlike what happens in the French State, the far-right RN does not have such an easy path to victory.
Jenofa Berhokoirigoin @Jenofa_B 2024ko uztailaren 03a
FHB Fronte Herritar Berriaren prentsaurrekoa, uztailaren 2an. Argazkia: Peio Dufau

Unlike the French state, the New Popular Front on the left, the FHB, has been the winner of the first round in Iparralde. However, for the second round, despite the fact that victory is available, the matter will be firm, particularly in the sixth constituency. Leftist candidates have called to "vote responsibly" against the risk of RN, a far-right party, since his appearance in Baiona on 2 July. The political landscape of each electoral district is as follows:

Fourth electoral district: Left in good position

In the fourth constituency comprising Zuberoa, Baxenabarre, Hazparne and some towns in Bearn, three candidates will be held: Iñaki Echaniz (38.01% in the first round, 21,968 votes), from the far right (RN) Sylviane López (25.62%, 14,806 votes) and Jean Lassalle (18.05%), from the right. With a difference of 7,162 votes on the extreme right, Echaniz has a lot of margin, and furthermore, the presence of two right-wing competitors in the same position should influence his favor.

Jean Lassalle, who was a Member of Parliament for twenty years – he did not show up in 2022 for health problems – is a man highly valued by the farmers of Iparralde and Bearn, and he should gather more votes on Sunday. The fact that BEÑAT Cachenaute, of the Republican party that has totaled almost 9,000 votes, said "personally" that he will vote in favour of Lassalle, what influence will it have? During the campaign of the first round he spoke loudly against the FHB and it could be thought that his followers will also do so on the right: The supporters of Cachenaut will be divided between Lassalle and López, always for the good of Echaniz. And where will the 1,128 votes obtained by the PNV be allocated? The party has given the slogan not to vote on the extreme right, but has not called to vote on the FHB, the first option to cut the way to the RN. However, a press conference was held on 4 July to explain that the three PNV candidates will personally support the FHB candidates. The Extreme Left Workers’ Struggle party has not issued a vow and has 476 votes in its favour, which would force it to turn left in case of going somewhere.

Fifth electoral district: firm but feasible for the New Popular Front

The fifth also has options to win the FHB New Popular Front Colette Capdevielle. The RN candidate, Serge Rosso, has won 32.30% of the votes and has stood at 3,336 votes from the first round. With 26.63%, Florence Lasser, a supporter of Macron, has had the opportunity to stay in the second round, but has finally retired, specifying: "I follow the values we have always had, I call on my constituents to vote with complete conscience and with responsibility," he added. That is, he has respected the slogan of Ensemble by Macron: to leave room for the third exit and facilitate the victory that is up to the NB. Capdevielle has already been a Member of Parliament, is known and also belongs to the Socialist Party, that is, it does not fulfil the image of the "extreme dangerous left" that Macron has demolished in the last three weeks in the Congress of Deputies. Thus, although not all of them are equal, the FHB would have to obtain a wide selection of the 18,667 votes obtained by Lasser in the first round.

But there were other candidates in the first round, and counting the votes of the right – the PNV discounting the 1,414 votes, knowing that they have passed the slogan not to vote the RN – are about 6,000 votes. Will the right address the extreme right or the unity of the left that the contestants and the media have presented as "extreme left", so that they cut the way to RN? It cannot be denied that your votes will have a great deal of influence. Adding up to the other leftist candidates, there are another 2,000 in the reserve, in principle for the New Popular Front (FHB).

Sixth electoral district: Well-positioned macronist deveze

In zone 6, the left-wing FHB also remains the winner of the first round, with 29.42% of the votes. But perhaps among the three camps is the one that has the most difficulty. On the one hand, the left-wing candidate and Abertzale Peio Dufau approaches Christian Deveze (26.92%), favorite of the Macron, who came out second: This is a difference of 1,844 votes between the two parliamentary groups. However, the fact that Victor Lastecoueres (25.29%), the candidate of the outgoing far right, has continued to compete, in principle, for the good of the left, as the votes of the right will be divided between the two.

RN should not win in the sixth constituency. Yes, the FHB could lose its first place and take the side for Macron, knowing that in 2022 it was already winning Macron’s game. There you have the 8,546 votes from the right in the reserve, against the other two candidates, as candidate Emanuelle Brisson has passed the message of Dévez. The PNV candidate, Jean Tellechea, also obtained 3,712 votes (5.04%), although the PNV has not clearly requested the vote for the FHB, so it would have to be distributed between Dufauren as abertzale and Devez as centre-right. It remains to be seen how PNV voters will be influenced by the fact that Ipar Buru Batzar and Tellechea President detail that "personally" will support Duffau, he said. There were also other candidates on the first round, and there's a thousand votes on the left, and about 250 votes in the middle, in other words, in case there were those in favor of Dia.