French presidential elections 2022 | Runoff voting: How does the polling system work?

French voters will go to the polls twice to elect their new President.

On April 10, 12 candidates ran against each other in the first election.

They were able to enter the contest after gaining the support of 500 mayors and municipal councillors from throughout the country.

Because Macron and Le Pen garnered the most votes, but because neither received more than 50%, a runoff will be held on Sunday, April 24.

This isn't France's only national election this year; parliamentary elections are also scheduled for June.

Let's have a look at the procedure for electing the President of the French Republic:

The people of France elect their President every five years.

Who is eligible to vote?

Direct universal suffrage is used to elect the President. All French nationals aged 18 and up, whether or not they live in France, are eligible to vote.Votes are directly attributed to the candidates.

What are the election's main stages?

The release of official candidate list — Candidates must be nominated by at least 500 elected representatives to be considered official candidates (e.g. mayors, deputies).

Campaigning for the election

A committee is in charge of monitoring the budget limit.

Once the official campaign begins, each candidate must receive an equal amount of TV and radio airtime.