The leader of French Polynesia's Porinetia Ora party has advised his supporters they can choose whoever they want in next month's run-off election for a new territorial assembly after it failed to qualify for the run-off round.
However, Teiva Manutahi's party had cleared the five-percent threshold, making it eligible for a coalition with any of the three lists which had secured at least 12.5 percent of the vote to go through to the second round.
He says he found no common basis in talks with the Tahoeraa Huiraatira and the Union For Democracy.
Mr Manutahi was critical of Teva Rohfritsch of the A Tia Porinetia Party for not seeking a dialogue with him while contacting his senior party members in a bid to get support for the run-off.
The campaign tone has toughened, with the Union For Democracy's Oscar Temaru saying the entire population is traumatised and suffering amnesia as a result of colonisation.
The Tahoeraa's Gaston Flosse says splitting away from France will lead to the territory's complete ruin.
