Politics of Seychelles
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The politics of Seychelles have historical roots in both one-party
Political history
Pre-independence political movements
While under British colonization, the people of the Seychelles had little to no say in how they were governed. Following the end of World War I, however, this began to change. The first political movement in the Seychelles was the Planters Association, which came into existence around 1918. In addition to the movement of the Planters Association, workers in the Seychelles petitioned the government about their poor working conditions and tax structure, which led to some proposed reform by the governor at the time, Governor Sir Arthur Grimble. Ultimately though, these reforms did not go into action, as the beginning of World War II put everything on hold.
The Planters Association was primarily focused on the interests of rich, white landowners and not the workers whom they employed. The League of Coloured Peoples formed as a result, and demanded minimum wage laws and health care reform.[1]
The first actual political party, the Taxpayers Association, was not formed until 1939. This Taxpayers Association was also an organization primarily made up of rich white landowners, so its goals were, again, purely the advancement of their personal interests and the interests of the plantocracy.
1948 marked the first year in which Seychelles enjoyed any sort of suffrage, but it was limited only to literate property owners, which made up just 2,000 people in a population of over 36,000. As a result of the first elections in 1948, most representatives on the new Legislative Council were members of either the Planters' or Taxpayers' organizations.[1]
In 1964, the Socialist Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP) was formed. Led by London-educated lawyer
As a result of the 1967 elections, the first elections under universal adult suffrage, each party gained three seats in the legislature. Mancham's SDP retained a single-seat lead in the legislature, despite the SPUP having a slight margin of victory in number of votes. This result was met with protests and strikes by supporters of the SPUP throughout the following year.[2]
1970 brought constitutional revisions to the colonial government of Seychelles, instituting a smaller-scale parliamentary system, but leaving plurality voting for the single-member districts.[2] In the following elections in both 1970 and 1974, Mancham gained a small majority in votes, but a large one in seats, through a voting system which relied on the principle of "first past the post". Specifically in the 1974 elections, Mancham's SDP won a disproportionate amount of seats, 13 out of 15, with just barely over half of the vote.[1][2]
Social unrest was rampant during this period, with strikes and protests, as well as bombings in 1972, all attributed to the SPUP. While this was partially attributable to the issues faced with the voting system, tensions regarding independence and rumored political repression and jailing of SPUP activists was also a factor.[2]
In June 1975, the SDP and SPUP began a coalition government in order to negotiate independence with Britain. The
Independence
Although Mancham's SDP had initially opposed independence, public opinion on the island heavily favored it, and on June 29, 1976, the British officially granted independence to the Seychelles. Mancham was named the new president, and René became prime minister. The new government kept the original distribution of seats per their 1975 agreement. Each party agreed to a "grand coalition" until 1979, when the next elections would take place.[2][3]
Less than one year after independence, on 5 June 1977, the SPUP overthrew the newly formed government in a bloodless
One-party socialism
One-party socialism was established in the Seychelles in 1979 by France-Albert Rene and his SPUP, and ended in 1991. During this time the state built one of Africa's highest gross domestic products per capita.
Return to multiparty system
After almost sixteen years of one-party rule, President Rene announced a return to the multiparty system of government at an
The Constitutional Commission was made up of twenty two elected members, fourteen from the SPPF and eight from the DP. It commenced work on 27 August 1992 with both President Rene and Mancham calling for national reconciliation and consensus on a new democratic constitution. A consensus text was agreed upon on 7 May 1993 and a referendum to approve it called for 15–18 June. The draft was approved with 73.9% of the electorate in favor of it and 24.1% against.
23–26 July 1993 saw the first multiparty presidential and legislative elections held under the new constitution, as well as a resounding victory for President Rene. Three political groups contested the elections—the SPPF, the DP, and the United Opposition (UO)—a coalition of three smaller political parties, including Parti Seselwa. Two other smaller opposition parties threw in their lot with the DP. All participating parties and international observer groups accepted the results as "free and fair."
Three candidates again contested the 1998 presidential election: Albert Rene (SPPF), James Mancham (DP), and Wavel Ramkalawan. Again, President Rene and his SPPF party enjoyed a landslide victory. The President's vote in the 20–22 March elections jumped to 66.6% from 59.5% in 1993, while the SPPF garnered 61.7% of the total votes cast in the National Assembly election, compared to 56.5% in 1993.
The twenty-first century
Early elections originally set for 2003 were called in August/September 2001. The Government Party SPPF again prevailed, although the main Opposition Party, Seychelles National Party (previously known as the United Opposition Party) headed by Wavel Ramkalawan, made a surprisingly strong showing and collected 46% of the total votes. The DP, headed by Mancham, did not take part in the elections.
In April 2004, Rene retired as president, passing the office to his vice president,
The new National Assembly building on Ile du Port, Victoria opened in 2009. The building was partly financed by the Government of China.[6][7]
Wavel Ramkalawan is the current President of Seychelles, and was elected in October 2020. Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan defeated President Danny Faure by 54.9% to 43.5%. The opposition took power in the Seychelles for the first time since 1977, following its victory in the presidential election.[8]
The election of the National Assembly was held on the 22–24 October 2020. The Seychelles National Party, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy and the Seychelles United Party formed a coalition, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS). LDS won 25 and former ruling party United Seychelles (US) 10 seats of the 35 seats of the National Assembly.[9]
Executive branch
Office | Name | Party | Since |
---|---|---|---|
President
|
Wavel Ramkalawan | LDS | 26 October 2020 |
The President of Seychelles, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office, and can be re-elected only once.
The cabinet is presided over and appointed by the President, subject to the approval of a majority of the legislature.
Legislative branch
The
Political parties and elections
Presidential elections
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wavel Ramkalawan | Ahmed Afif | Linyon Demokratik Seselwa | 35,562 | 54.91 | |
Danny Faure | Maurice Loustau-Lalanne | United Seychelles | 28,178 | 43.51 | |
Alain St Ange | Peter Sinon | One Seychelles | 1,021 | 1.58 | |
Total | 64,761 | 100.00 | |||
Valid votes | 64,761 | 98.10 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,256 | 1.90 | |||
Total votes | 66,017 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 74,634 | 88.45 | |||
Source: ECS |
Parliamentary elections
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FPTP | PR | Total | +/– | |||||
Linyon Demokratik Seselwa | 35,202 | 54.84 | 20 | 5 | 25 | +6 | ||
United Seychelles | 27,185 | 42.35 | 6 | 4 | 10 | –4 | ||
One Seychelles | 1,420 | 2.21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
Seychellois Alliance | 70 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
Independents | 317 | 0.49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 64,194 | 100.00 | 26 | 9 | 35 | +2 | ||
Valid votes | 64,194 | 97.30 | ||||||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,784 | 2.70 | ||||||
Total votes | 65,978 | 100.00 | ||||||
Registered voters/turnout | 74,634 | 88.40 | ||||||
Source: ECS |
By constituency
Constituency | LDS | US | OS | Others | Valid | Total | Turnout | Registered | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||||
1 | Anse Aux Pins | 1496 | 52.8 | 1254 | 44.2 | 84 | 3.0 | 2834 | 2916 | 88 | 3304 | ||
2 | Anse Boileau | 1564 | 53.1 | 1340 | 45.5 | 41 | 1.4 | 2945 | 3012 | 89 | 3398 | ||
3 | Anse Etoile | 2161 | 62.0 | 1273 | 36.5 | 50 | 1.4 | 3484 | 3585 | 88 | 4064 | ||
4 | Anse Royale | 1343 | 46.4 | 1484 | 51.3 | 66 | 2.3 | 2893 | 2893 | 86 | 3375 | ||
5 | Au Cap | 1845 | 61.7 | 1081 | 36.2 | 41 | 1.4 | 23 | 0.8 | 2990 | 3071 | 88 | 3509 |
6 | Baie Lazare | 1324 | 55.0 | 1083 | 45.0 | 2407 | 2481 | 90 | 2756 | ||||
7 | Baie Ste Anne | 1289 | 43.5 | 1383 | 46.7 | 292 | 9.9 | 2964 | 3051 | 89 | 3444 | ||
8 | Beau Vallon | 1727 | 60.0 | 913 | 31.7 | 239 | 8.3 | 2879 | 2963 | 87 | 3421 | ||
9 | Bel Air | 1025 | 51.7 | 870 | 43.9 | 87 | 4.4 | 1982 | 2028 | 88 | 2315 | ||
10 | Belombre | 1726 | 63.2 | 1005 | 36.8 | 2731 | 2822 | 87 | 3261 | ||||
11 | Cascade | 1317 | 54.2 | 1084 | 44.6 | 27 | 1.1 | 2428 | 2495 | 90 | 2785 | ||
12 | English River | 1429 | 57.5 | 980 | 39.5 | 50 | 2.0 | 25 | 1.0 | 2484 | 2575 | 89 | 2908 |
13 | Glacis | 1713 | 62.2 | 985 | 35.8 | 55 | 2.0 | 2753 | 2826 | 86 | 3270 | ||
14 | Grand Anse (Mahe) | 1428 | 67.6 | 685 | 32.4 | 2113 | 2183 | 88 | 2478 | ||||
15 | Grand Anse (Praslin) | 1296 | 51.8 | 1103 | 44.0 | 105 | 4.2 | 2504 | 2521 | 90 | 2810 | ||
16 | Ile Perseverance | 1438 | 53.2 | 1098 | 40.6 | 167 | 6.2 | 2703 | 2826 | 92 | 3083 | ||
17 | Inner Islands | 665 | 37.1 | 1105 | 61.7 | 22 | 1.2 | 1792 | 1838 | 90 | 2046 | ||
18 | Les Mamelles | 1177 | 58.1 | 827 | 40.8 | 22 | 1.1 | 2026 | 2084 | 90 | 2326 | ||
19 | Mont Buxton | 1449 | 58.5 | 993 | 40.1 | 35 | 1.4 | 2477 | 2552 | 89 | 2882 | ||
20 | Mont Fleuri | 1317 | 58.9 | 919 | 41.1 | 0.0 | 2236 | 2305 | 87 | 2643 | |||
21 | Plaisance | 1452 | 53.2 | 1221 | 44.8 | 55 | 2.0 | 2728 | 2845 | 87 | 3257 | ||
22 | Pointe Larue | 966 | 46.2 | 1096 | 52.4 | 28 | 1.3 | 2090 | 2142 | 89 | 2400 | ||
23 | Port Glaud | 870 | 48.4 | 929 | 51.6 | 1799 | 1856 | 92 | 2008 | ||||
24 | Roche Caiman | 776 | 44.4 | 781 | 44.7 | 192 | 11.0 | 1749 | 1803 | 91 | 1990 | ||
25 | Saint Louis | 1281 | 59.9 | 781 | 36.5 | 78 | 3.6 | 2140 | 2187 | 85 | 2572 | ||
26 | Takamaka | 1128 | 54.7 | 912 | 44.2 | 23 | 1.1 | 2063 | 2118 | 91 | 2329 | ||
Total | 35202 | 54.8 | 27185 | 42.3 | 1420 | 2.2 | 387 | 0.6 | 64194 | 65978 | 88 | 74634 | |
Source: ECS |
Administrative divisions
Seychelles is divided in 25 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Royale, Au Cap, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, English River, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), Inner Islands, Les mamelles, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe Larue, Port Glaud, Roche Caiman, Saint Louis, Takamaka.
International organization participation
References
- ^ OCLC 1103489285.
- ^ S2CID 157407977.
- ^ Scarr, Deryck. "Seychelles: Independence, Revolution, Restoration of Democracy: 1960 to Present." Encyclopedia of African History, edited by Kevin Shillington, Routledge, 1st edition, 2004. Credo Reference,
- ^ a b "Seychelles." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/seychelles . Accessed 04 Dec. 2019.
- ^ "Danny Faure sworn in as new president".
- ^ "Opening of the New National Assembly Building". YouTube (in French). SBC Seychelles. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Construction of new National Assembly building begins". National Assembly of Seychelles. 24 March 2008.
- ^ "Seychelles election: Wavel Ramkalawan in landmark win". BBC News. 25 October 2020.
- ^ "EISA Seychelles: 2020 National Assembly election results overview".