The vote on the statutes does not mobilize La République en Marche

Last day of voting for Walkers! Members of La République en Marche (LREM) have until Wednesday to respond to the consultation. on the statutes of the party. And, according to the first figures circulating, the participation would be very low.

At the end of July, at the start of the consultation, only 25.000 people would have spoken, had specified the direction of the movement to the World. A very low figure if we reduce it to the 370.000 members of the presidential party. And the two-week extension of the vote – which was originally scheduled to be held from July 23-30 – is unlikely to change much of that. For Rémi Bouton, spokesperson for La Démocratie en Marche, a group that calls for more transparency in the movement, “the first days of an election generally represent more than half of the voters. If this very low participation is confirmed, it shows that the leaders have done nothing to interest people. And that this important question of the statutes, which are the foundations of the party, interested only a few people”.

Mobilization is not the only issue. There is also a threat to the validity of the poll, as there are suspicions of fraud. Many Walkers claim they were able to vote multiple times. "There were bugs the first few days," certifies an activist from Dordogne. Adding to this problem are members who have multiple email addresses. All you need is a log-in and a password to become a member of LREM. “It is possible to register with as many email addresses as you wish. The headquarters of En Marche! does not check if it is the same person. We can therefore vote as many times as we have addresses, ”adds the Walker. “We could therefore appeal and have the vote annulled!” he advances.

Between lack of participation and irregularities, it is not impossible to think that the announcement of the results of the votes, which could take place on Thursday morning, will not mark the end of the episode of the statutes.

As soon as the text was presented, criticism emerged. The dissatisfaction of La Démocratie en Marche succeeded in delaying the election deadline. By decision of the court of Créteil, at the following the complaint filed by Rémi Bouton's collective, the voting period has been extended from August 2 to 16 inclusive. The collective denounced the non-respect of the old statutes of the movement, according to which a period of one month had to be respected between the summons to the ballot and the knowledge of the text by the members. The collective asked for the pure and simple cancellation of the vote in order to rediscuss the statutes, which it considers "drafted in haste".

Disappointed activists

The text submitted to the vote of the militants would only reaffirm the deficit of internal democracy, in the eyes of these dissatisfied members. “These statutes confine the members to a role of supporter and exclude them from governance, both local and national”, protest the members of La Démocratie en Marche.

Main reproach made to the text: “members do not participate in particular in any internal election”. They are not satisfied with the 25% of seats in the National Council that the party intends to reserve for ordinary members. A rate however reassessed upwards, because the first proposals mentioned only 20%.

A low turnout could also confirm the statements of La Démocratie en Marche like those of another association, Les Marcheurs en angry, on the “mass departures” of disappointed activists. Members would not feel sufficiently taken into account by the party leadership. Added to this is the doubt about the real number of activists. “Among the 370.000 members, there are many junk members, who are not active activists and who have in fact turned away from En Marche!” Rémi Bouton analysis. Pending the result of the vote on Thursday, the management of LREM is careful not to comment on these criticisms. “No information is circulating on the number of voters or the trends, we temper. Let's wait for the results before drawing any conclusions."