Campaigning in French Polynesia for the two seats in the French senate appears to be suspended after a presumed candidate, Rene Hoffer, was told that registration won't open until September 1st.
The two senate seats will be decided on September the 21st by an electoral college comprising just under 700 people.
Mr Hoffer says while campaigning was to have started this week, the electoral law says candidates can only hold official campaign meetings once their bid for office has been registered.
He says this has led to a UPSD coalition meeting to be billed as just a gathering.
"They cannot show up for candidates any more because youn cannot go against the electoral law. So not only would the candidates and the two core candidates have faced maybe a possibility of not being able anymore to be a candidate when it really starts - because I would have taken them to court of course - but maybe the whole party, UPSD, would not have been able to present a candidate."
