False candidate, false deputy, false investiture: the Constitutional Council cancels a Parisian legislative

Laurent Fabius, Alain Juppé and the other members of the Constitutional Council have decided: the by-election which allowed the socialist Lamia El Aaraje to become deputy of Paris in June 2021 is cancelled. The first round having been distorted by the presence of an impostor among the candidates, the Council estimated, Friday, January 28, that the whole of the ballot should be called into question. However, a new election is not possible within a year of the next legislative elections. By June 2022, the inhabitants of the 15^and constituency of Paris will therefore no longer have a direct representative in the Assembly and the Socialists and allies will only have 28 deputies instead of 29. The problematic candidate in question, Jean-Damien de Sinzogan, is also declared ineligible for three year.

How can a man manage to present himself in a legislative election under a false name, with a false deputy and a false investiture, without being blocked by the administration in charge of the elections? The astonishing story of the Macronist pseudo-pretender to the throne of France is a wonderful illustration of the flexibility of French electoral rules and the failures of democracy. A textbook case.

It all starts on May 4, 2021, three weeks before the by-election organized in the 20^and arrondissement of Paris following the resignation of the socialist George Pau-Langevin. As the campaign draws to a close, a candidate registers with the Prefecture: Jean-Damien de Sinzogan, 27, ” without label “. Unknown in this very left-wing district, the young man does not seem able to disturb the match between Lamia El Aaraje (PS), Antoinette Guhl (EELV), Thomas Roger (Communist Party), Danielle Simonnet (LFI) and François-Marie Didier (The Republicans, LR). Judging the cause lost, the macronists chose not to present a candidate.

When the propaganda commission met three days later at the regional Prefecture, its members were astonished. First, Jean-Damien de Sinzogan wishes to present himself under the name of Jean de Bourbon, a prestigious surname which places him in line with the Capetians. Then, his deputy, Jordan Msihid, a friend met in a nightclub, also inherited a pseudonym: he became Victor Mensah, the name of both an American rapper and a Ghanaian footballer. While it is possible to stand for election under a name other than the one that appears on your identity card, it still has to be a surname that you are already using, under which you are known. In this case, Jean-Damien de Singozan provided no such justification. For the committee, the bulletin proposed is therefore “to review for the name”.

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