Justine Benin, Secretary of State for Sea, is missing her bet and will have to resign from government

A month after her appointment, the outgoing deputy of the second district of Guadeloupe (related Modem) was beaten by the various left candidate, Christian Baptiste, supported by the Nuts.

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For Justine Benin, the challenge was size. Appointed, on May 20, secretary of state in charge of the sea in the government of Elisabeth Borne, the deputy of the second district of Guadeloupe, invested by the presidential coalition together !, Vite a second term. She was therefore to convince an electorate who had clearly disowned Emmanuel Macron during the election last April.

The outgoing deputy did not succeed her bet: she was beaten on Saturday, June 18, during the second round of the legislative elections, against the various left candidate, Christian Baptiste. The outgoing deputy, related Democratic Movement (Modem), was credited with 41.35 % of the vote, against 58.65 % for her opponent, who had the support of the new Ecological and Social People’s Union (Nuts).

To maintain its place within the executive, it was imperative to win Saturday – the vote taking place in an early manner in the Antilles – because, as in 2017, the members of the government who presented themselves in the legislative elections must resign in case of failure. In addition to Justine Benin, fourteen ministers and secretaries of state appointed last month are candidates for the deputation, including the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne. First member of the government to be beaten, the Secretary of State for the Sea will therefore have to give up her post.

“The popular verdict is there”, noted Justine Benin in front of the cameras of Guadeloupe the 1st after the announcement of the results. “The big winner is abstention,” nevertheless put the outgoing deputy, deploring a 28.23 % participation rate in the department for this second round, down more than two points compared to the second round From the 2017 legislative elections. Asked about his future within the government, M Benin dismissed the issue. “This is another subject that I will have time to approach,” she replied, assuring that she was “already at work to prepare tomorrow”.

The Secretary of State, however, had some good reasons to hope to win this ballot. At the end of the first round, she was in favorable tank against Mr. Baptiste, which she was ahead of 4.5 points, with 31.31 %, against 26.78 % for the mayor of Sainte-Anne. Very anchored locally, it also benefited from the support of many elected officials, including the Macronist senator Dominique Théophile, as well as the majority of mayors of the eight municipalities in his constituency. Despite these rallies, she was beaten in all these localities, with the exception of her fief of the mold, where she only ahead of her opponent with seventeen votes.

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/Media reports.