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France's Left primary run-off sees higher turnout: organizers

Xinhua, January 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

Organizers of the Left primary of France said they have recorded higher turnout in Sunday run-off compared with last week's first round.

By 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), 1.3 million voters had casted their ballots based on an account of 75 percent of 7,500 polling sites across the country.

Compared with the turnout of last Sunday, the figure increased by 22.8 percent, according to organizers.

"I confirm that we will be at the closure (of polling stations) between 1.7 and 2 million voters. That's what we had announced and hoped for," said Christphe Borgel, president of the organizing committee.

Former education minister Benoit Hamon and former prime minister Manuel Valls are competing for Left presidential ticket in the contest, in which pollsters predicted the traditional Socialist Hamon would make a large lead to his pro-liberal rival.

Last Sunday, Hamon came top out of seven candidates in the first round of Left primary to choose a presidential candidate.

He was seen collecting 36.03 percent of the vote making a lead to former prime minister's 31.48 percent.

Voting opened at 7,500 polling stations across France at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Sunday and closed at 7 p.m.(1800 GMT). The first partial results may emerge within an hour and a half of polls closing. Endit