French Senate election, 2008
Encyclopedia
Indirect Senate elections were held for 114 of the 343 seats in the French
Senate on 21 September 2008. With this election, the number of senators was increased from 331 to 343; Saint Barthélemy
and Saint Martin
elected two senators each for the first time. Furthermore, this election was the last to be held under the old system: prior to this election, senators were elected in three classes for nine-year terms. Under the new system instituted in 2011, senators are elected for six-year terms in two classes.
, Alpes-Maritimes
, Bouches-du-Rhône
, Drôme
, Eure-et-Loir
, Haute-Garonne
, Gironde
, Hérault
, and Guyane départements and one in French Polynesia
.
The election marked the first time that French Polynesia had two seats in the Senate instead of just one. The President of French Polynesia
Gaston Tong Sang
and another member of his coalition, Béatrice Vernaudon
, a former member of the French National Assembly
who lost her seat in June 2007, contested the seats. Former French Polynesian President Gaston Flosse
ran for his Tahoeraa Huiraatira Party and teamed up with Richard Tuheiava
, a member of the pro-independence party Union for Democracy.
was composed of 50,720 elected officials (49,602 in metropolitan France). Of these, 48,453 were local councillors, 178 were MPs
, 765 were regional councillors and 1,504 were general councillors.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Senate on 21 September 2008. With this election, the number of senators was increased from 331 to 343; Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
and Saint Martin
Saint Martin (France)
Saint Martin , officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin is an overseas collectivity of France located in the Caribbean. It came into being on 15 July 2007, encompassing the northern parts of Saint Martin island and neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre...
elected two senators each for the first time. Furthermore, this election was the last to be held under the old system: prior to this election, senators were elected in three classes for nine-year terms. Under the new system instituted in 2011, senators are elected for six-year terms in two classes.
New seats
Twelve new seats were filled in this election. They were divided in the following way: 1 new Senator each for the AinAin
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
, Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
, Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...
, Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
, Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
, Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, and Guyane départements and one in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
.
The election marked the first time that French Polynesia had two seats in the Senate instead of just one. The President of French Polynesia
President of French Polynesia
This is the list of Presidents of French Polynesia.-See also:*List of monarchs of Tahiti*Colonial and Departmental Heads of French Polynesia-External links:*...
Gaston Tong Sang
Gaston Tong Sang
Gaston Tong Sang is the former President of French Polynesia. He served terms as President of French Polynesia from November 2009 until April 2011, from April 2008 until February 2009 and from December 2006 until September 2007.; he is currently the Mayor of Bora-Bora...
and another member of his coalition, Béatrice Vernaudon
Béatrice Vernaudon
Béatrice Vernaudon is a French politician born on 27 October 1953 in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.She was elected a deputy to the National Assembly of France on 16 June 2002, becoming one of the Deputies of the 12th French National Assembly , in the second district of French Polynesia...
, a former member of the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
who lost her seat in June 2007, contested the seats. Former French Polynesian President Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse is a French Polynesian politician who has been President of French Polynesia on four separate occasions. He is currently a member of the Senate of France.-Life and career:...
ran for his Tahoeraa Huiraatira Party and teamed up with Richard Tuheiava
Richard Tuheiava
Richard Tuheiava is a member of the Senate of France, representing French Polynesia. He is a member of the Socialist Party.-References:*...
, a member of the pro-independence party Union for Democracy.
Electoral college
For the 114 seats up for election, the electoral collegeElectoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
was composed of 50,720 elected officials (49,602 in metropolitan France). Of these, 48,453 were local councillors, 178 were MPs
MPS
MPS may refer to:* Robinson List, aka Mail Preference Service, direct mail opt-out system* Malmin Palloseura, association football club from Helsinki, Finland.* Marginal propensity to save* Master Production Schedule...
, 765 were regional councillors and 1,504 were general councillors.
Election
- Departments with 1 to 3 senators: Two-round systemTwo-round systemThe two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, using the same system as legislative elections. - Departments with 4 or more senators: Proportional representation, highest averages methodHighest averages methodThe highest averages method is the name for a variety of ways to allocate seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems....
, no PanachagePanachagePanachage is the name given to the procedure – sometimes provided for in elections conducted according to the party-list proportional representation system – which allows voters to distribute their votes between individual candidates from different party lists...
or preferential votingPreferential votingPreferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
.