Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Brial wins re-election as French MP for Wallis and Futuna

Posted at 23:44 on 24 March, 2003 UTC

In a by-election in Wallis and Futuna to choose a member of the French parliament, Victor Brial has retained his seat by a margin of just over 300 votes.

Mr Brial of the UMP Party won the second round by defeating an independent candidate, Penisio Tialetagi.

The new election was called after the Constitutional Ccouncil in Paris declared last December that Mr Brial had not been elected properly because of the way some ballot papers were marked.

Mr Brial was first elected in 1997 at the age of 31 to become the French assembly’s youngest member.