The day following the appointment of Elisabeth Moreno, all the former candidates for the nomination of the presidential majority in the 9th constituency of French people living outside France decided to maintain their candidacy for the legislative elections of June 12 and 19, 2022, put apart from the outgoing deputy, M’jid El Guerrab.
After several days of suspense, the presidential majority announced last Thursday the candidacy of the Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno, now invested in the 9e constituency of French people living outside France, until now held by the ex-LREM deputy M’jid El Guerrab.
Before the appointment of Elisabeth Moreno, several names were vying for the nomination of the party of Emmanuel Macron and his majority allies (MoDem, Horizons, Agir, Territoires de Progrès, etc.) in this constituency which brings together 16 Maghreb countries. and West Africa. This was notably the case of David Azoulay, Ahmed Eddarraz, Mehdi Reddad, M’jid El Guerrab and Rachida Kaaout.
“An election is never played in advance and only the voice of the voters counts. I think that the French will be able to choose between tourists from the Republic and people who are truly anchored here, those who live with them, ”comments Mehdi Reddad, interviewed by Le360. The appointment of Elisabeth Moreno does not seem to deter the current referent of the Horizons party (created by Edouard Philippe) in Morocco and former referent of the presidential party LREM for the Maghreb-Sahel region.
Mehdi Reddad confirms that, for the time being, his candidacy for the legislative elections will be maintained, while providing his support, he says, to Edouard Philippe.
It is the same for Ahmed Eddarraz who, via a press release, announced that he would continue to defend his candidacy for the legislative elections, not without contesting what he describes as “parachuting of Elisabeth Moreno”.
Reputed to be close to the Macron couple, Ahmed Eddarraz considers himself to be the “natural candidate”. “Beyond my personal story, inscribed from a very young age between the two shores of the Mediterranean, I have also been a founding member of LREM, since 2016. I have forged a relationship of trust and esteem with Emmanuel Macron. And this privileged link with the President of the Republic, as well as many political decision-makers at the head of the countries of the constituency, will be a strength and an opportunity when finding solutions to the problems of our fellow citizens”, reacted Ahmed Eddarraz. in his press release.
And to add: “There are no French people in the first division and French people in the second division. The former would live in France while the latter would be settled abroad. There are simply full-fledged French people”.
For his part, David Azoulay, who wanted the LREM nomination, decided to stay in the race, while welcoming the candidacy of Elisabeth Moreno.
“My conviction and my motivation remain intact with regard to the solidity of the program built with my team, the representatives and the French people of the constituency that I had the chance to meet”, explained David Azoulay in a declaration for Le360.
“My commitment goes beyond political affiliations and reflects a social-democratic left, just, respectful of equality, sure of its values and capable of meeting the challenges that emerge every day,” he added.
David Azoulay assures that his candidacy will be that of the appeasement of the French in their daily lives. “I am the candidate for dialogue, intercultural exchange being at the heart of my associative commitment and has always been,” insists the man who was the accountant for François Mitterrand’s presidential campaign during his second term in 1988. .
The seat of the 9e constituency in the National Assembly has so far been held by ex-LREM deputy M’jid El Guerrab. The latter was sentenced last Thursday in Paris to one year in prison and two years of ineligibility for the attack on former socialist leader Boris Faure in 2017. A decision he will appeal, according to his lawyer.
According to the latest news, even if the execution of this judgment is suspended while the case is examined on appeal, the outgoing deputy has decided to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Elisabeth Moreno. During a press conference organized this Saturday, May 14 in Casablanca, M’jid El Guerrab explained that this choice of withdrawal is justified by the desire to “maintain the seat of the 9e constituency of the presidential majority within the bosom of the presidential majority”. We will come back to it.
