SANF 15 no 69
Seychelles is set for a run-off on 16-18 December after no presidential candidate amassed enough votes to be declared outright winner following elections held in early December.
According to final results announced by the island nation’s Electoral Commission, incumbent President James Michel of the Parti Lepep and Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party led the first round of presidential polls, with 47.76 and 33.93 percent of the vote, respectively.
The President in Seychelles is elected by an absolute majority vote to serve a five-year term. However, if no candidate receives at least 50 percent plus one vote, a second round of voting is conducted involving the top two contestants, and the winner of this round is declared elected.
In this regard, Michel and Ramkalawan who both failed to garner the required absolute majority will face each other in the run-off on 16-18 December.
This is the first time since 1993 when the country re-introduced multiparty politics that the island nation is going for a second round of voting as the ruling Parti Lepep has won every presidential election in the first round since then.
A total of six candidates took part in the presidential elections held on 3-5 December.
The other four presidential candidates were Patrick Pillay of the Lalyans Seselwa party who garnered 14.19 percent, David Pierre Leader of the Popular Democratic Movement (2.12 percent), Alexcia Amesbury of the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy (1.33 percent), and an independent candidate Philippe Boullé (0.67 percent).
Amesbury was the first woman to stand as a presidential candidate in the island nation.
A total of 62,004 votes were cast against 70,943 eligible voters, according to the Electoral Commission. Seychelles population stands at about around 93,000.
As in the case with all elections in Seychelles, voters in the so-called “outer islands” will vote on the first two days, followed by the “inner islands” of Mahe, of Grand’ Anse and La Digue Islands which are home to more than 90 percent of the Seychellois population.
This voting set-up makes it easy for the voting to be completed in time and ensures that ballots from outer islands are delivered back to the main island of Mahe, where the tallying of the votes and final result announcement take place.
The archipelago nation is made up of 115 islands, some as much as 1,000 kilometres from the main island of Mahe.
The presidential polls in Seychelles were initially set for 2016. However, Michel, who is seeking a third and final mandate as stipulated in the island nation’s Constitution, announced in October that the elections would be held earlier than expected.
He had proclaimed 19-21 November as election days but due to limited time and complaints from opposition parties, the electoral commission set 3-5 December as the dates for the elections to allow more time for the country to prepare for the polls.
Some analysts argued that the rescheduling of elections to this December was a ploy by Michel to manage instability within the Parti Lepep as some party members are believed to be not happy with his policies.
This may explain the close outcome of the presidential elections as the ruling Parti Lepep has never been forced into a second round of voting since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in 1993.
Both candidates Michel and Ramkalawan have expressed confidence ahead of the second round.
“We are ready to take part in the second round and we will ensure that we perform better than the first time,” Michel said.
On the other hand, Ramkalawan said some of the opposition candidates had already indicated before the elections that should there be a second round they would be ready to endorse whoever among them wins the most votes in the first round.
“We realize that in our country today, the opposition has the majority with 52 percent compared to the ruling party, 48percent. The second round will be a matter of all of us coming together,” he said.
In line with the standard practice, regional and international election observers will be deployed to observe the elections.
These will include the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observer Mission (SEOM), the African Union Observer Mission, and the Electoral Commission Forum of SADC countries, as well as the SADC Parliamentary Forum.
The expectations of the SEOM are guided and measured mainly against provisions and requirements of the Seychelles Constitution, as well as the SADC Treaty, the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
Headed by Patrício José, who is the Deputy Minister of Defence in Mozambique, SEOM will cover 20 of the 25 districts of Seychelles, which translates to about 80 percent of the total country – a coverage which is quite representative of the country.
SEOM is expected to produce a report on the conduct of the polls. sardc.net
