Corsican Assembly


The Corsican Assembly is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the Grand Hôtel d'Ajaccio et Continental, in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 territorial elections, the assembly was expanded from 51 to 63 seats, with the executive council expanding from 9 to 11 members.

History

Before 1975, Corsica was a department of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
On 2 March 1982, a law was passed that gave Corsica the status of territorial collectivity, abolishing the Corsican Regional Council which had existed before. Unlike the regional councils, the Corsican Assembly has executive powers over the island.
In 1992, three institutions were formed in the territorial collectivity of Corsica:
Members of the Corsican Assembly were first called "territorial councillors" in reference to Corsica's status as a collectivité territoriale. Members are now called "Councillors of the Corsican Assembly", or in unofficial and everyday speech, just "Councillors".

Powers

There are 63 members of the Assembly, elected for a six-year term via a closed party list and two rounds of voting. To pass beyond the first round, a candidate requires an absolute majority, whereas in the second round a plurality is sufficient.
The list that wins in the first or second round automatically obtains three seats as a "premium to the majority". The other seats are distributed based on proportional representation.
At the first meeting of Assembly Councillors after an election, the councillors elect an Assembly President in a plurality ballot. This is also a two round contest, with an absolute majority required to proceed to the second round. At the same time as the election of the President, the Assembly also elects the ten members that will make up the President's Committee.
In contrast to the executives of the regional councils, Assembly Councillors may not also be members of the Corsican Executive Council. Election to the executive requires resignation from the Assembly.

Results

Presidents of the Corsican Assembly

Members since 2015: