2023 Monegasque general election

General elections were held in Monaco on 5 February 2023.^[1] The result was a landslide victory for the governing Monegasque National Union led by Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, which won all 24 seats on the National Council. The new council was sworn in on 16 February.^[2]

2023 Monegasque general election

← 2018 5 February 2023 2028 →
All 24 seats in the National Council 13 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	57.26% (13.09pp)
First party Second party   Hor Leader Brigitte Boccone-Pagès Laurent Nouvion Party Priorité Monaco Horizon Monaco Alliance UNM UNM Last election 21 2 Seats won 13 8 Seat change 8 6 Percentage 89.63%[a] 89.63%[b]   Third party Fourth party   UMU Leader Jean-François Robillon Daniel Boéri Party UM NIM Alliance UNM Last election 1 Did not exist Seats won 3 0 Seat change 2 Percentage 89.63%[c] 10.37%
President of the National Council before election Brigitte Boccone-Pagès Primo! (UNM) Elected President of the National Council Brigitte Boccone-Pagès Primo! (UNM)

Background

The previous elections in February 2018 saw Stéphane Valeri's Priorité Monaco list win 21 of the 24 seats with more than 57% of the vote,^[3][4] with the party taking all seats filled by majority vote and five of the eight filled by proportional representation. Second- and third-placed Horizon Monaco and the Union Monégasque won two and one seats respectively.^[5]

Valeri announced his retirement from political life in September 2022.^[6] He was succeeded by the vice-president of the National Council, Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, who became the first woman to take the presidency of the National Council.^[7] A month later, she announced the merger of Priorité Monaco, Horizon Monaco and the Union Monégasque into the Monegasque National Union (UNM).^[8]

Deputy Daniel Boéri, who had left Priorité Monaco in July 2022, became the only opposition MP after the formation of the UNM. He subsequently founded New Ideas for Monaco on 26 October 2022. It campaigned on the themes of ecology and starting a public debate on the legalisation of abortion.^[9]

Electoral system

Voters can either choose a party list or choose candidates from various lists (panachage) for the 24 seats. The 16 candidates with the most votes are elected (with the older candidate breaking possible ties in votes). The eight other seats are chosen from lists in accordance with the proportional representation system for parties that have at least five per cent of votes.^[10]

Contesting parties

See also: List of political parties in Monaco

Name				Ideology	Position	Leader(s)	Last election		Before election
							%	Seats
	UNM		Monegasque National Union Union Nationale Monégasque	Conservatism	Right-wing	Brigitte Boccone-Pagès	100%[d]	24 / 24	23 / 24
	NIM		New Ideas for Monaco Nouvelles Idées pour Monaco	Environmentalism	Centre-left	Daniel Boéri	Did not exist		1 / 24

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Monegasque National Union	72,602	89.63	24	0
	New Ideas for Monaco	8,401	10.37	0	New
Total		81,003	100.00	24	0
Valid votes		3,948	90.80
Invalid votes		254	5.84
Blank votes		146	3.36
Total votes		4,348	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		7,594	57.26
Source: Journal de Monaco,[11] Mairie de Monaco[12]

By candidate

List		Candidates	Votes	Total votes	%	Seats
	Monegasque National Union	Nathalie Amoratti-Blanc	3,164	72,602	89.63	24
		Balthazar Seydoux	3,131
		Christine Pasquier-Ciulla	3,122
		Régis Bergonzi	3,116
		Jean-Louis Grinda	3,116
		Fabrice Notari	3,116
		Franck Julien	3,105
		Mathilde Le Clerc	3,086
		Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo	3,077
		Morgane Jade Aureglia	3,064
		Nicolas Croesi	3,045
		Corinne Bertani	3,037
		Franck Lobono	3,019
		Thomas Brezzo	3,016
		Brigitte Boccone-Pagès	3,002
		Christophe Brico	2,996
		Marie-Noëlle Gibelli	2,975
		Marine Grisoul	2,949
		Maryse Battaglia	2,931
		Karen Aliprendi	2,928
		Roland Mouflard	2,927
		Mikaël Palmaro	2,917
		Guillaume Rose	2,903
		Philippe Brunner	2,860
	New Ideas for Monaco	Jean-Charles Tonelli	770	8,401	10.37	0
		Daniel Boéri	731
		Juliette Rapaire	706
		Jean-Michel Rapaire	664
		Valérie Laugier	601
		Sébastien Lambla	594
		Jean L'Herbon de Lussats	568
		Ana Crovetto	560
		Pierre Dick	552
		Gaylord Crovetto	550
		Eric Battaglia	542
		Jean Charles Grassi	540
		Marc Giacone	517
		Hanny Leuenberger	506
Source:Journal de Monaco,[11] Mairie de Monaco[12]

Analysis

The elections were won by the Monegasque National Union, which received nearly 90% of the votes and won all 24 seats on the council. It was the largest landslide victory since that of the National and Democratic Union in 1988, before the formation of the other centre-right party National Progressive Action in 1993. The outgoing president of the National Council, Brigitte Boccone-Pagès's mandate, is thus largely renewed.^[13] The merger of the parties elected in 2018 into the UNM led to a relative lack of interest among voters for the ballot. With 749 fewer voters than five years earlier despite an increase in the number of voters registered on the lists of 349, voter turnout showed a drop of 13 points, dropping from 70.35% to 57.26%.^[14]

Notes

1. Elected on the UNM list
2. Elected on the UNM list
3. Elected on the UNM list
4. All three parties that contested the 2018 elections – Priorité Monaco, Horizon Monaco and Union Monégasque – allied to form the Monegasque National Union.