1998 Seychellois general election

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1998 Seychellois general election
20–22 March 1998
Registered54,847
Presidential election
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Turnout86.70%
 
Nominee France-Albert René Wavel Ramkalawan James Mancham
Party FPPS United Opposition Democratic Party
Running mate James Michel Annette Georges Danielle Belle
Popular vote 31,048 9,098 6,427
Percentage 66.67% 19.53% 13.80%
President
before election

France-Albert René
FPPS

Elected
President

France-Albert René
FPPS

Politics of Seychelles
Constitution
Cabinet
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

General elections were held in the

Seychelles People's Progressive Front won both elections with over 60% of the vote,[1]
defeating a divided opposition.

Campaign

On the 4 February 1998 it was announced that the presidential and parliamentary elections would be held at the same time in March.

social welfare system and benefited from the inability of the opposition to unite against him.[2] He was challenged by the former President James Mancham of the Seychelles Democratic Party, who he had deposed in a coup in 1977, and also by Wavel Ramkalawan of the new United Opposition party.[4]

The election saw a joint team of international election monitors from the Commonwealth of Nations and Francophonie observe the election, the first time they had sent a combined team to observe an election.[5][6] The team was led by Sir John Compton, former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.[6] The monitors said the election was mainly free and fair, and complemented it on being well organised.[7] However, there were some complaints about vote buying by government officials.[7]

Results

President

President René won the presidential election with two-thirds of the vote, while former President Mancham was beaten into third place by Wavel Ramkalawan.[8]

CandidateRunning matePartyVotes%
France-Albert RenéJames MichelSeychelles People's Progressive Front31,04866.67
Wavel RamkalawanAnnette GeorgesUnited Opposition9,09819.53
James ManchamDanielle BelleSeychelles Democratic Party6,42713.80
Total46,573100.00
Valid votes46,57397.95
Invalid/blank votes9772.05
Total votes47,550100.00
Registered voters/turnout54,84786.70
Source: Nohlen et al.

Parliament

The parliamentary results saw the governing Seychelles People's Progressive Front win 24 of the 25 directly elected seats and a further 6 of the 9 seats that were elected proportionally.[7] The opposition Democratic Party was reduced to only one seat, while the new United Opposition won three seats.[7]

PartyVotes%Seats
FPTPPRTotal+/–
Seychelles People's Progressive Front28,61061.7124630+3
United Opposition12,08426.06033+2
Seychelles Democratic Party5,60912.10101–4
Independents600.13000New
Total46,363100.0025934+1
Valid votes46,36397.47
Invalid/blank votes1,2052.53
Total votes47,568100.00
Registered voters/turnout54,84786.73
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  2. ^ a b "The Seychelles: parliamentary elections National Assembly, 1998". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  3. ^ "International: Serpent in the garden". The Economist. 1998-03-14. p. 52.
  4. ^ "News in brief: Seychelles sticks to Rene". The Guardian. 1998-03-24. p. 11.
  5. ^ Cornwell, Rupert (1998-03-12). "Co-operation in Africa". The Independent. p. 13.
  6. ^ a b "Joint inspection team for Seychelles". BBC News Online. 1998-03-11. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  7. ^ a b c d "Rene wins Seychelles presidential elections". Manila Standard. 1998-03-24. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  8. ^ "Elections in the Seychelles". African Elections Database. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
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