LFI Candidate Leads French Expat Vote in Morocco, Heads to Runoff

According to data from the French Ministry of the Interior, Karim Ben Cheïkh qualified for the second round with 18,505 votes, or 51.57% of the votes cast, far ahead of Samira Djouadi from the presidential coalition Ensemble (ENS), who came second with 5,634 votes, or 15.70% of the votes cast.

Despite this considerable gap, Karim Ben Cheïkh will have to confirm his victory on July 7 in the second round due to the low voter turnout in the first round (28.07%). With his 18,505 votes, or 14.19% of registered voters, the LFI candidate narrowly missed obtaining an absolute majority of registered voters, reports Challenge.

This first round of early legislative elections confirms the rise of the Rassemblement National (RN) which obtained more than 33% of the votes cast and 39 elected deputies, including Marine Le Pen. It is followed by the Front populaire de gauche with nearly 28% of the votes and 32 elected representatives. Emmanuel Macron’s party comes third in this first round with only 20% of the votes.

If this trend is confirmed in the second round scheduled for July 7, the French president will have to undergo cohabitation with an extreme right-wing government. Clearly, the final results of these early legislative elections will lead to a recomposition of the National Assembly and, as a result, a new orientation of French policy.