Dissolution Of

New Deputy Seeks

Tahiti's Assembly

By a staff writer

Mr. Francis Sandford, the new deputy for French Polynesia in die French Parliament, had talks in Paris in mid-April with the French Minister for Overseas

Territories, Mr. Pierre Billotte,

on the possibility of dissolving French Polynesia’s Territorial

Assembly.

11/fR. SANDFORD claims that the -tTA Assembly no longer represents the people of French Polynesia and should be dissolved.

He said after his election on March 19 that this would be the first task he would attempt to achieve.

At the last count, the composition of the 22-member Assembly, which was elected for five years in October, 1962, was: 14 former members of the banned RDPT, a party usually described as leftist; and eight members of two moderate parties known as UTD and UNR.

Election results

The UTD-UNR candidate in the March election, Nedo Salmon, polled only 1.232 per cent, of the total votes, so it would certainly appear that the UTD-UNR is over-represent ed in the Assembly.

The complete election results were; Sandford, 13,633 votes; John Teariki, 13,285; and Salmon, 336.

Mr. Teariki, who is chief of Afareaitu, Moorea, and an inter island shipowner, had been French Polynesia’s deputy since 1961. He has been a frequent and outspoken critic of France’s nuclear testing project at Mururoa Atoll.

His narrow defeat in the election seems to have been mainly due to a desire for change rather than to any real dissatisfaction with him among the electorate.

The new deputy, Francis Sandford, is a locally-born man whose paternal grandfather was an American.

He has gained a reputation as a dynamic administrator since he be came mayor of the newly-created municipality of Faaa (Tahiti’s inter national airport district) two years ago.

Mr. Sandford was born on May 11, 1912. He began his career as a dock

worker and waiter, and eventual!! became a schoolteacher.

In 1939, he was chef de paste ii the Gambier Archipelago, which hi rallied to the Free French flag o de Gaulle after the fall of Franco: He subsequently volunteered fey service overseas in the French Arnm but was sent instead to Bora Born to act as French liaison officer witli the American forces stationed them His work won him America’s Medal of Freedom.

After the war, Mr. Sandford roi mained on Bora Bora as a schoolc teacher until 1956, when he becamn Director of Primary Education in thri territory.

From 1959 until his election as mayor of Faaa, he occupied senioo positions in the government.

He married Elisa Snow in 1939 anm has seven children, of whom thd eldest is 25.

Mr. Sandford has never been , member of the Territorial Assembly! and was little known in the public life until two years ago.

His line appears to be that French Polynesia suffers from too mamn sterile discussions, too much politico and not enough action.

Footnote: In the election in New: Caledonia and the New Hebrides foio a new deputy in the French Parliae ment, the sitting member, Mr. RocHc Pidjot, of the Union Caledoniennen (nationalist party) had a comfortablel* win.