The electoral petition against a New Caledonian member of the French National Assembly has been thrown out.
The French National Assembly Photo: AFP
The Constitutional Council in Paris has released a first batch of rulings and approved the re-election of Philippe Gomes.
The challenge had been lodged by the lowest scoring candidate in last month's election Manuel Millar who claimed that voters were possibly influenced by the colour of discarded voting papers in the rubbish bins of the voting booths.
The Council dismissed the concern and according to media reports also decided that a petitioner can only challenge one result.
This means that Mr Millar's complaint is likely to be rejected in the second case from New Caledonia concerning Philippe Dunoyer, who was elected for the first time.
Once officially cleared, Mr Dunoyer will need to be replaced within the ranks of the New Caledonian government.
Under the provisions of the Noumea Accord, this can only happen if the entire government resigns to allow the Congress to choose a new ministerial line-up.
