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Results from the second round of the 2026 municipal elections in Réunion are coming in.
Two candidates remained in the race as of Sunday, March 22.
Of the 712,763 registered voters on Réunion, 26,407 were eligible to elect the mayor of La Possession. 56.62% of registered voters cast their ballots on Sunday, an increase of more than six percentage points compared to the first round.
Erick Fontaine Elected Mayor of La Possession
The outcome in La Possession was extremely close, with Erick Fontaine and Vanessa Miranville separated by just a few dozen votes. Erick Fontaine was elected with a margin of 101 votes, defeating the incumbent mayor.
The union list led by Erick Fontaine (along with Philippe Robert and Vincent Rivière) received 50.35% of the votes, compared to 49.65% for Vanessa Miranville. In the first round, before forming the alliance, Fontaine secured 19.60% of the vote and finished second.
The outgoing mayor, who was seeking a third consecutive term, had initially led in the first round. This week, Fontaine – also the administrator of the National Housing Confederation (CNL) in Réunion – reached an agreement with the other qualified candidates, Philippe Robert and Vincent Rivière. This alliance evidently proved successful on Sunday.
We are awaiting the results from the municipality of La Possession:
Reactions
Celebrations erupted at Erick Fontaine’s campaign headquarters Sunday evening, with supporters hailing “a change” in La Possession, accompanied by music and dancing. As the newly elected mayor arrived, supporters set off smoke flares to welcome him.
“This evening is not my victory, it’s the victory of the people of La Possession,” he said. He dismissed the narrow margin of victory over the incumbent, stating, “Today is a victory, today I am the mayor of La Possession and we will build the city with all the people of La Possession.” The CNL administrator pledged “to be present” alongside his constituents.
“We have so many important projects, so many difficulties in La Possession, that we will take the time this week. But there is no priority more important than another; there are several challenges to meet, and we will take the time to do so“, he concluded.
« On a aujourd’hui une énorme responsabilité : cette mairie n’avait plus placé l’humain au centre des débats. La proximité avait été oubliée. Il s’agit pour nous de créer une Possession plus humaine, plus solidaire, en ne perdant pas de vue les grandes priorités auxquelles aujourd’hui nous devons faire face. »
Erick Fontaine, élu maire de La Possession
Erick Fontaine’s reaction on Réunion La 1ère:
Six Candidates in the First Round, Two in the Second Round
Vanessa Miranville (CREA) was the outgoing mayor of La Possession.
Find the map of the results of the first round –> HERE
Following the first round of the 2026 municipal elections held on Sunday, March 15, four candidates qualified for the second round: Vanessa Miranville (41.94%), Erick Fontaine (19.60%), Philippe Robert (14.01%), and Vincent Rivière (13.10%).
Discussions quickly began between the three challengers to the incumbent mayor in the intervening weeks. Fontaine and Robert subsequently announced the merger of their lists, a union joined by the fourth candidate who qualified in the first round, Vincent Rivière.
This culminated in a head-to-head contest for the second round of the 2026 municipal elections in La Possession.
Participation Rate
57.22% of Réunion voters participated in the first round. In La Possession, the final participation rate was 50.18%, compared to47.80% in the first round in 2020.
During the previous municipal elections of 2020, the participation rate in the second round in La Possession was 50.74%.
La Possession in Figures
La Possession has a population of 36,568. 64.4% of the population is under 45 years of age, but the number of people between 60 and 74 years old has doubled in 10 years. The unemployment rate in the municipality is 19.6%, an increase of 36.3% among 15-24 year olds. Thepoverty rate is 24%. It reaches 39% among those under 30 and 30% among those over 75.
Find our interactive map of the results of the 2nd round in Réunion -> HERE
