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French
Voters Will Choose One Of Sixteen
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French
voters are preparing to go the polls to choose among 16
candidates vying Sunday in the first round of elections that
will determine whether conservative President Jacques Chirac
will win a second term or will be replaced.
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PARIS,
April 20 (IslamOnline& News Agencies) - French voters are
preparing to go to the polls to choose among 16 candidates vying
Sunday in the first round of elections that will determine whether
conservative President Jacques Chirac will win a second term or will
be replaced.
Chirac,
69, is leading the pack, according to the surveys, and it is all but
certain that he will emerge to defend his job against the runner-up in
the decisive, second-round election on May 5.
That
challenger is seen as Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, the man
he has had to share executive power with over the past five years.
By
voluntarily cutting the presidential term from the previous seven
years to five, Chirac has made sure that legislative elections follow
on the heels of the presidential poll.
French
voters will have no time to rest after the May 5 decider before they
are called out again on June 9 and June 16 for the two rounds of the
parliamentary elections.
However,
Jospin and indeed the other 14 candidates are aiming to deal another
blow to Chirac.
The
Socialist leader, 64, has a reputation for honesty and toil, and has
introduced popular measures such as the 35-hour work-week during his
time in government.
Surveys
show widespread apathy among France's 40 million registered voters. Up
to one third of the voters are likely to abstain, and many have not
definitively decided which candidate to back.
Perhaps
this is a reaction to Chirac and Jospin being permanent fixtures on
France's political landscape, Chirac narrowly beat Jospin to the
presidency in 1995, for instance, and the similarity of their promises
(a crackdown on crime, lower taxes), polls show neither has
enthusiastic support.
Incumbent
conservative President Jacques Chirac and Socialist Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin have shared executive power in France since 1997, and
despite their political differences many voters identify them as part
of the same outgoing team.
According
to a Louis-Harris survey Friday, 65 percent of voters consider their
programs to be either "not very different" or "almost
identical."
Surveys
show these two are likely to face off in the decisive second round on
May 5 with a 50-50 split of the vote.
Outside
candidates such as extreme right-winger Jean-Marie Le Pen are
attracting protest votes that, if all added together, are likely to be
higher than for the two mainstream candidates.
The
winner will be the President of the world's fourth biggest economy, a
significant military power, a cultural powerhouse, and a primary force
in the European Union.
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