In the Assemblée territorial elections French Polynesia on 30 April 2023 was defeated by the separatist organization Tāvini Huiraātira of erstwhile Oscar president Temaru, defeating the Tāpur Huiraātira group of current president Édouard Fitch by 44.2% of the vote to 38.5% of the vote, giving the independency of 38 seats in the 57-member parliament. Most likely on May 12, 2023, the Territorial Assembly will elect a fresh president of the territory, a candidate for which is the politician of the winning Moetai Brotherson party.
The failure of the erstwhile president, according to the paper "Le Figaro", is due to the social reception of the authorities' proceedings during the COVID-19 epidemic, inflation of 8.5% and the introduction of a fresh VAT to keep the local social safety system. The winning organization was congratulated on Twitter by French Home and Overseas Minister Gérald Dermanin.
French Polynesia has in the French constitutional strategy the position of an ‘overseas community’ (French collectivité d’outre-mer, COM) and ‘overseas country’ (French pay d’outre-mer, POM), differing importantly from territories specified as Réunion or Guadeloupe, which are ‘departments and overseas regions’ (French département et une région d’outre-mer français). French Organic Law n°2004-192 of 27 February gives French Polynesia a wide scope of autonomy, leaving areas specified as health, simple and secondary education and environmental protection to Papeete. In Paris, however, higher education and safety issues remain.
The coming to power of Tāvini Huiraātira in a short time does not pose a hazard of secession of the region for Paris, but will strengthen the politically reluctant Parisian authorities Oscar Temaru. This may weaken president Emmanuel Macron's position in the implementation of his concept of French presence in the Indo-Pacific region, beginning the way for strengthening China, as of April 2022 already present in the Solomon Islands. The French Polynesia Archipelago is besides a base for nearly half of French exclusive economical zones – France ranks second after the US – and there are rich deposits, including platinum and cobalt.
Ronald Lasecki
