#2025-444Law No. 2025-444 to Harmonize Voting Methods in Municipal Elections
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The law modifies the electoral code to streamline voting procedures for municipal elections in France, particularly focusing on municipalities with fewer than 1,000 residents. It aims to enhance democratic vitality, municipal cohesion, and gender parity in local governance. Key aspects include changes to candidate nomination rules, the handling of vacant council seats, and the composition of election commissions, ensuring proportional representation and flexibility in smaller communities.
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Key Changes
- Elimination of previous requirements for lists in small municipalities, allowing more candidates to be elected even if fewer than the full number of seats are filled.
- Adjustment of rules regarding the composition of election commissions in case only one list wins seats at municipal elections.
- Provisions for supplementary elections in municipalities that lose a significant number of council members, ensuring timely replacements.
Obligations
What this law requires
In municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, candidate lists may be incomplete with up to two fewer candidates than the required council size (Article L. 252)
When a council seat becomes vacant, the next candidate on the list automatically replaces the elected councilor (Article L. 258)
A candidate called to replace a councilor must resolve any incompatibilities within 30 days of the vacancy by resigning from incompatible mandates, or the next candidate on the list assumes the seat (Article L. 258)
Complementary elections must be held within three months of the last vacancy if the council has lost one-third or more of its members or has fewer than five members, except in the year before general municipal renewal when the threshold is one-half or fewer than four members (Article L. 258)
Election commission composition in municipalities where only one list obtained seats or a complete commission cannot be formed must include: one municipal councilor, one state administration delegate, and one judicial delegate (Article L. 19 VII)