Guillaume Arnell, seeking a second term as Senator, casts his vote in the Préfecture on Sunday. (Robert Luckock photo)
MARIGOT--Annick Pétrus (59) was elected Senator of St. Martin at the close of a second round of voting in the Préfecture on Sunday afternoon, winning the seat by a clear majority of fifteen votes and becoming the first woman to hold the post.
Pétrus, currently third Vice-President of the Collectivité (Les Republicains and Union for Democracy, St. Martin)) went into the election as favourite to win with support from the majority party, but failed to secure the required 13-vote majority in an unexpectedly tight first round.
She was one of four candidates standing for election that included outgoing Senator Guillaume Arnell (Divers Gauche), Marthe Ogoundélé-Tessi (Les Republicains), and largely unknown outsider Erwan Trotel (Divers Centre). Arnell was seeking a second six-year term.
In St. Martin, senators are elected by an electoral college consisting of Territorial Councillors and Députée (Member of Parliament for St. Martin and St. Barths) Claire Guion-Firmin.
The first round saw Pétrus obtain 10 votes, Arnell five votes, Ogoundélé-Tessi six votes, and Trotel zero votes.
In the second round, Pétrus obtained 15 votes, Arnell two votes, Ogoundélé-Tessi five votes, and Trotel zero votes.
If no candidate had obtained a majority in the second round, the win would have been given to the oldest candidate. There were 25 registered voters, of whom 24 voted and one abstained. The number of votes cast was 22 with two blank votes.
“I want to thank my President and all my colleagues in the Territorial Council who have confidence in me,” said Pétrus. “The work continues, a continuity of action.”
Arnell told reporters the past six years had been “some of the best of his political career.” He thanked those who had voted for him this time, and back in 2014 when he was elected. He said it had been a great privilege to be at the service of the population and his island, but acknowledged “a page has now turned.”
The substitutes for the candidates were Kathy Africa for Arnell, Alvarado Burnett for Ogoundélé-Tessi, Nikomo Sylvestre for Pétrus, and Audrey Duptie for Trotel.
In St. Barths, Micheline Jacques of Le Republicains is the new Senator. She was the only candidate. The number of registered voters was 21 but with two abstentions. The number of votes cast was 12 with seven blank votes.
“I would like to thank all the electors who went to the polls on Sunday, September 27, to elect our new representative at the Palais du Luxembourg,” said President Daniel Gibbs in a statement afterwards. “Two rounds were necessary to decide between the four candidates for the post of senator. The 24 ‘Grand Electors’ who took part in the senatorial ballot have brought our democratic system to life and I am very satisfied that, in the second round of this third senatorial election for St. Martin, Annick Pétrus made the difference with 15 votes to her credit.
“Having a senator from our majority will better defend the interests of St. Martin at the national level, but also to carry the projects of our group for the benefit of the people of St. Martin.
“The challenge of representing our values in the Senate is, of course, still to come, and I am convinced that Annick will be able to take up this new challenge and serve her territory and our ideas through this six-year mandate. My colleagues of the majority join me in sending her our full support and all the success for St. Martin and its inhabitants.”
The Senate is the Upper House of the French Parliament made up of 348 senators who work for six-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every three years.
