And the results (of the first round)

To Tatou Ai'a, the pro-autonomy party of former president Gaston Tong Sang, has won the plurality of votes (32.7%) across French Polynesia and in most districts, with pro-independence UPLD (Union pour la Démocratie, of incumbent President Oscar Temaru) coming in second (31.9%), and pro-autonomy Tahoera'a Huiraatira (of Gaston Flosse) coming in third (21.8%). This is remarkable in that To Tatou Ai'a has only been in existence for half a year. In addition, it demonstrates that a majority of those who voted yesterday (the combined To Tatou Ai'a and Tahoera'a vote) are against independence from France. Christian Estrosi, the French minister for overseas territories, and President Nicolas Sarkozy are reportedly very pleased with these results.

Here on Mo'orea, the UPLD (39.4%) comes out clearly ahead of To Tatou Ai'a (31.4%), with Tahoera'a in third (21.7%). This is not too surprising to me, given how many pro-independence flags I see when I drive around the island. Last May, Mo'orea voted in favor of Ségolène Royal for the French presidency, while French Polynesia overall voted Sarkozy.

The Marquesas Islands' three seats in the Assembly have been decided in this round. Two of these seats go to Te Henua Enata A Tu, a local political party that is in favor of separating from French Polynesia and forming closer ties to France as a separate overseas collectivity. This is of personal interest to me because our expedition to the Marquesas last summer met Nuku Hiva mayor Benoît Kautai, who was elected to one of these seats; we also met Ua Pou mayor Joseph Kaiha, who was not elected to the Assembly this time but sparked a controversy in December by calling for separation from Tahiti and deepening ties to France in a public speech.

This is only the first round, however; this round has eliminated a number of smaller parties from the ballot for the second round on February 10. This second round will determine the actual composition of the Assembly, and the president of French Polynesia. There remains the possibility of two parties forming a coalition before the second round, or after the new Assembly is convened.

Read more from Agence Tahitienne de Presse and Le Monde.