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Rabat – On Sunday, June 6, the Moroccan-French Lamia El Aaraje was elected as deputy to Paris’ 15th district.
The 34 year-old El Aaraje, a Socialist Party (PS) candidate, was elected with 55.56% of the vote. She won the election inching out ahead of her opposition, Danielle Simonnet of the France Insoumise party, who received 43.44% of the votes. The Socialist candidate will succeed George Pau-Langevin as the MP for the 15th constituency, part of the 20th arrondissement of Paris.
The local election was marked by low turnout rate, as only 12,600 voters out of 77,000 showed up to vote, the equivalent of 16.36% of the total registered voters from the 15th constituency. The arrondissement, often referred to as Menilmontant, is situated on the right bank of the Seine River. It contains two of the city’s cosmopolitan districts, notably its namesake, Menilmontant, and Belleville.
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Al Aaraje will hold the post of deputy, representing the district in the French National Assembly for a year until the next elections. A Doctor of Pharmacy, she has been previously elected as municipal councilor and counselor of Paris in the 20th arrondissement in 2020.
Following Sunday’s election, the Parisian PS has managed to hold on to its only seat in the French National Assembly.
“It is the victory of perseverance,” said the current mayor of the 20th arrondissement of Paris, Eric Pliez, El Aaraje’s deputy. He praised the new deputy’s fighting spirit and loyalty.
Eight candidates ran in the first round of the partial legislative election on May 30. By the second round on June 6, there were two candidates left -El Aaraje and Simonnet.
