Flosse evasive about his party’s attendance for Monday’s vote
(Tahitipresse) - French Polynesia President Gaston Flosse said Friday members of his political party holding seats in
the French Polynesia Assembly would be present “in principle” Monday for the election of a new government president.
At the same time, Flosse denounced the attitude of his longtime political archrival, pro-independence party leader Oscar
Temaru, whom he accused of “buying” Assembly members belonging to Flosse’s soon to be opposition political group. Flosse
spoke about Monday’s election during Friday’s inauguration of Place Jacques Chirac in downtown Papeete.
Flosse said he needed to hold a meeting of his political group’s members with seats in the Assembly to see what their
decision will be. As for their participation in the Assembly meeting, Flosse said, “In principle, yes. In principle,
once again. I haven’t said yes.”
Following the Feb. 13 by-election for 37 Windward Islands seats in the 57-seat Assembly, Flosse’s two-party group and
Temaru’s six-party Union for Democracy (UPLD) coalition both ended up with 27 seats. But since then, Temaru picked up
one seat previously with a three-seat centrist alliance and appears to have picked up a member from Flosse’s
pro-autonomy group. That would give Temaru’s coalition 30 votes, enough to elect Temaru government president for the
second time since last June.
With 28 coalition votes and two votes from the pro-autonomy centrist alliance, Temaru toppled Flosse’s nearly
four-month-old government on Feb. 18 with the adoption of a no confidence motion Temaru’s coalition filed against the
Flosse government.
There are two candidates to become Tahiti’s new government president—Temaru, won a similar election to that post last
June, and Gaston Tong Sang, the mayor of Bora Bora and one of the loyal founding members of Flosse’s Tahoeraa Huiraatira
political party. Temaru lasted in office four months until his government was toppled when a no confidence motion filed
by Flosse was adopted last October.