David Vergé's 2012 election was annulled due to financial irregularities, causing a by-election on 17 and 24 March 2013.[3] Two candidates stood for the left, including Laurianne Vergé for the Socialists. She was the first woman ever to stand as a candidate for Parliament to represent the constituency – and was the wife of David Vergé, who had represented the other side of the political spectrum.[4] Seeking to retain the seat for the right,Napole Polutele stood as an independent endorsed by theUnion for a Popular Movement.[4]
All three candidates received good enough results to advance to the second round, where Polutele received almost exactly the same result as in the first and was elected.[5] Two months later, having been elected to sit on the opposition benches (albeit officially as an independent), he joined the ranks of the Socialist-led majority. He explained frankly that being a member of the majority would make it easier for him to lobby the government for funds and services for his constituents – who, he said, cared little for the left-right divide prevalent inmetropolitan France. He subsequently sat as an independent on the benches of the left.[6]
.svg)