Municipal elections 2026: the UPR clarifies the rules for allocating the posts of mayors and deputy mayors.
Approaching the installation of the new communal councils stemming from the January 11, 2026 election, the Union Progressiste le Renouveau (UPR) has set the guidelines that will shape the designation of mayors, deputy mayors, and presidents of commissions in the communes where it holds the majority.
In a directive dated February 4, 2026, the party’s High Political Directorate (HDP) establishes a collegial governance framework to be implemented in partnership with its ally within the presidential movement, the Bloc Républicain (BR).
According to these indications, in the communes where the UPR holds the majority of councilors, the party is responsible for proposing: the mayor, the first deputy mayor, and, where applicable, the third deputy mayor as well as three of the four chairs of the municipal council’s commissions.
The Bloc Républicain, as a minority force in these councils, is allocated the second deputy mayor and one commission chair, under the governance agreements defined between the two parties.
As for the heads of districts, the directive specifies that the majority party in each arrondissement is the one that must propose the candidate for this post, while allowing for special arrangements by agreement with the other party, in certain specific communes.
The UPR also insists on the method of designation: proposals must be collegial, inclusive, and consensual, and exclude any isolated initiative or emanating from a small group within the party’s communal sections.
Each communal section is called upon to transmit a list of three candidates for the post of mayor to the High Political Directorate, which reserves the right to intervene in case of a lack of prior consensus.
This political framework is being put in place in view of the official installation of the communal councils and their executives for the 2026-2033 term, planned in the coming days.
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