The president of Seychelles is running for reelection on the strength of the economy
In the Seychelles election, which started on Thursday, incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan and his allies are trying to prevent the party that has controlled politics for forty years from making a comeback.
The western Indian Ocean archipelago that is home to Africa’s richest nation per capita is a target for investment and security cooperation from China, the Gulf states, and India.
Former Anglican priest Ramkalawan led the tourism-driven economy through a post-pandemic recovery and says he wants a second five-year term to safeguard the nation’s neutrality to attract investment and expand infrastructure and social protections.
His major opponent, Patrick Herminie of the United Seychelles party, which ruled from 1977 to 2020, claims that issues like rising living expenses, falling educational standards, bribery, and drug misuse plague the 120,000-person population.
VOTE FOR CHANGE?
Approximately 73,000 voters will select eight presidential candidates and 125 opponents over the course of three days in the 35-seat National Assembly, where Ramkalawan wants to keep his Linyon Demokratik Seselwa alliance in the majority.
Polling places on the three main islands will open on Saturday, while voting in the outlying islands and for some vital workers started on Thursday. The deadline for results is Sunday.
At the English River voting booth in Victoria, the capital, dozens of vital workers lined up to cast their ballots.
“I came to vote to remove the president,” Alberte, a policeman who would not reveal his last name, stated. “I did not like the things he did for the past five years, so I voted for a change.”
Gary Cado, a bus driver, expressed his satisfaction with the government and his desire for it to continue.
ECONOMIC REBOUND
Seychelles, which has long been one of Africa’s best economic performers because to tourism revenue and government changes, has recovered well from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was taken off the EU’s tax blacklist last year.
According to the International Monetary Fund, public debt is expected to fall below the government’s goal of 50% of GDP by 2030, and inflation is less than 2%.
In an interview with Reuters, Ramkalawan stated, “We’ve embarked on an ambitious program of taking care of our people,” citing free school lunches, infrastructural improvements, and a higher minimum salary.
He intends to use neutrality to maximize investment while constructing a new hospital, airport, and contemporary port.
Ramakalawan went on to remark, “We say keep your geopolitics to yourselves,” “Any vessel, whether French, American, British, Chinese, or Indian, is welcome. If China and India are having issues, it is not our problem.
WITCHCRAFT CHARGES
The doctor and former speaker of the National Assembly, Herminie, has surmounted extraordinary legal obstacles, including his incarceration in 2023 for attempting to conduct a coup using witchcraft. The charges were later withdrawn after he rejected them.
Citing the leasing of two islands to businesses from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Herminie claims the government has enabled the development of corruption.
When his party was accused of corruption throughout its 43 years in power, he told Reuters that it had learned its lesson.
“The party had been in power too long, empires were built inside, and divisions weakened us,” he stated.
“We remain a progressive, left-of-centre party, convinced that people should be at the centre of development.”
Alain St. Ange, a former minister of tourism, entrepreneur Marco Francis, and gospel singer Robert Moumou are among the other presidential contenders.
