Municipal elections in Valencia: the left contests Nicolas Daragon's victory in court

In Valence, the election hasn't just left posters on the billboards. It's also landed in the administrative court. A left-wing list, the "Ecological and Popular Left" led by Stéphane Magnin, filed an appeal after the first round of municipal elections, which was won handily by the incumbent right-wing mayor Nicolas Daragon, re-elected on Sunday with 58,12% of the vote.

Behind them, Paul Christophle's left-wing alliance reached a plateau at 17,82%, and Stéphane Magnin finished third with 12,01%. The election result was clear at the ballot box, but less so in the accounts everyone has been giving since.

Late emails, a contested statement of faith, misplaced ballots

Stéphane Magnin says he noted several irregularities during the campaign and on election day. In a press release, he points to propaganda emails that were allegedly sent after the legal deadline, and then disputes claims made in the incumbent mayor's campaign platform, notably the idea that he planned to raise local taxes, which he denies.

He also points out that ballots were allegedly misplaced in some polling stations, to the point, according to him, of compromising the "equal visibility of the lists." Now comes the legal process, slower and more detached than the political rallies: the administrative court must first rule the appeal admissible, then assess whether the alleged irregularities could have affected the integrity of the election, in a city where the electoral chapter seemed to have already been closed.