The second round of municipal elections in Réunion defied many predictions, with several "favorable runoffs" overturned at the ballot box. Of the ten municipalities still in contention, five experienced unexpected shifts, illustrating significant electoral volatility between the two rounds.
In Saint-Leu, Karim Juhoor caused a surprise by going from third place in the first round to victory, notably after the withdrawal of the incumbent mayor. In Sainte-Suzanne, Alexandre Laï-Kane-Cheong unseated MP Frédéric Maillot despite the absence of a formal alliance, doubling his number of votes. The same scenario played out in La Possession, where a united list allowed Erick Fontaine to defeat the incumbent mayor, Vanessa Miranville.
Dynamics turned upside down between the two rounds
In Le Tampon, the left unexpectedly prevailed, ending a century of right-wing dominance thanks to a strong increase in voter turnout. In Cilaos, Laïla Nassibou also defeated incumbent mayor Jacques Técher in an internal left-wing contest, benefiting from a better transfer of votes and higher voter participation.
These results confirm the decisive role of alliances, withdrawals and mobilization between the two rounds, in an election where nothing was decided in advance.
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