"The UMP, the political heir to the party founded by Charles de Gaulle after World War II, is hoping to move on from bitter political infighting and financial scandals that have pushed it to the verge of collapse. And Sarkozy, who broke the worst-kept secret in French politics when he announced his political comeback in September, has vowed he is the man to rebuild 'the party of hope'," Agence France-Presse reported.
UMP members have been voting for the new leader on Friday and Saturday, November 28-29, and Nicolas Sarkozy, 59, hopes to outperform his main rivals Bruno LeMaire and Herve Mariton in a first-round vote. "Nicolas Sarkozy is tipped to win but needs a strong showing to keep his presidential re-election hopes alive," the BBC notes, adding that the former president "is under pressure to win by a wide margin."
"If he gets less than 70 percent that could prompt others in the UMP to see a window of opportunity," said Jean-Daniel Levy of pollster Harris Interactive, as quoted by Reuters.
"Staying in the background when everything is going so badly would be cowardice, the opposite of my idea of political commitment," Sarkozy claimed, as quoted by the media outlet.
Experts stress that Sarkozy, who lost fell from power in his popularity in 2012, hopes to take advantage of Hollande’s current unpopularity. Polls indicate that the current president is, who is currently "more disliked" by the French electorate than he Sarkozy was. Agence France-Presse cites Andrew Knapp, an expert in French politics at Britain’s University of Reading, who suggested that Sarkozy's decision to run for presidency was "partly an act of revenge for a defeat which he has never fully accepted."
Citing UMP's officials, the BBC reported more than 100,000 had voted by Saturday noon. The poll would close at 19:00 GMT.
