10 Sep 2014

Tahiti's Flosse keeps Senate seat despite conviction

10:01 am on 10 September 2014

French Polynesia's deposed president, Gaston Flosse, will remain a member of the French Senate until his term expires at the end of the month.

At the weekend, the French government served him last July's court sentence for corruption, which entailed a suspended four-year jail term and the loss of his office for three years.

The order to vacate the presidency has been enacted but the process to strip him of his Senate seat is more complicated and cannot be completed before the end of September.

Last month, French Polynesia's daily newspaper identified Flosse as the only Senator not to have worked a single day in the past year while on full pay.

Flosse has named two members of his party, including a son-in-law, as candidates for French Polynesia's two seats in the Senate.

The dominance of his party is such that their election is almost certain.

Gaston Flosse

Gaston Flosse Photo: AFP