Tahiti's Radical

Political Leader

Re-Elected

Mr. Francis Sanford, who is strongly opposed to French nuclear tests in the Pacific and who favours internal self-government for French Polynesia, was re-elected to the French Chamber of Deputies on July 7 in a poll held in French Polynesia.

The poll was part of the general election held in France and most other French territories in June.

It took place a fortnight later than the first round elsewhere be cause it was impossible to get ballot boxes and papers to the outlying islands in time for a simultaneous poll.

The delay probably cost Mr.

Sanford some support, as French Polynesia’s electors already knew of General de Gaulle’s landslide victory when they cast their votes, and it would have been surprising if some swinging voters did not switch their allegiance from Mr. Sanford to his pro-Gaullist opponents, Mr. Nedo Salmon and Charles Taufa.

Voting figures

However, Mr. Sanford won com fortably with 58.3 per cent, of the valid votes cast. The voting figures were: Sanford, 14,901; Salmon, 8,129; Taufa, 3,349.

The results seem to indicate that Mr. Salmon has neither gained nor lost support since he was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1967.

The Sanford-Teariki alliance pushed through a resolution condemn ing the nuclear tests in the local Territorial Assembly on July 11.

It was the latest of numerous anti bomb protests that they have made.