2015 Seychellois presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Seychelles between 3 and 5 December 2015. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a second round was held between 16 and 18 December.[1] Incumbent President James Michel was re-elected, defeating opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan by just 193 votes in the second round. Ramkalawan claimed there had been "many irregularities", including vote buying.[2]

2015 Seychellois presidential election

3–5 December 2015 (first round) 16–18 December 2015 (second round)
Registered	70,943
Turnout	87.40% (first round) 90.06% (second round)
Nominee James Michel Wavel Ramkalawan Party People's Party SNP Running mate Danny Faure Roger Mancienne Popular vote 31,512 31,319 Percentage 50.15% 49.85%
President before election James Michel People's Party Elected President James Michel People's Party

Background

The elections were initially scheduled to take place between 19 and 21 November 2015, but were moved "to give more time to political parties to prepare for the elections".[3]

Campaign

The official nomination process closed on 11 November 2015. In October 2015 incumbent President James Michel of the People's Party announced his intention to run for re-election for a third and final term. Since the re-introduction of democracy in 1993,[4] candidates from the People's Party have won all presidential and parliamentary elections in Seychelles.[3]

Alexia Amesbury, leader of the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy, was the first woman to contest a presidential election in Seychelles.[1]

Results

Michel fell short of a majority in the first round, receiving about 48% of the vote, and therefore a second round was required. The second place candidate, long-time opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan, received the support of third place candidate Patrick Pillay for the second round.[5]

Michel won the second round by a very small margin, beating Ramkalawan by only 193 votes, according to results announced by the electoral commission on 19 December 2015. Ramkalawan disputed the results and requested a recount. Michel was sworn in on 20 December.[6]

Candidate		Running mate	Party	First round		Second round
				Votes	%	Votes	%
	James Michel	Danny Faure	People's Party	28,911	47.76	31,512	50.15
	Wavel Ramkalawan	Roger Mancienne	Seychelles National Party	21,391	35.33	31,319	49.85
	Patrick Pillay	Ahmed Afif	Seychellois Alliance	8,593	14.19
	Alexia Amesbury	Roy Fonseka	Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy	832	1.37
	Philippe Boullé	Peter Roselie	Independent	411	0.68
	David Pierre	Hervé Anthony	Popular Democratic Movement	400	0.66
Total				60,538	100.00	62,831	100.00
Valid votes				60,538	97.64	62,831	98.34
Invalid/blank votes				1,466	2.36	1,062	1.66
Total votes				62,004	100.00	63,893	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				70,943	87.40	70,943	90.06
Source: ECS

References

1. "Seychelles presidential race heading for run-off within 14 days - no candidate wins absolute majority after 'highly contested'", Seychelles News Agency, 6 December 2015.
2. "Seychelles president re-elected, opposition cries foul", Reuters, 19 December 2015.
3. Presidential elections in Seychelles rescheduled for December 3rd to 5th Seychelles News Agency, 13 October 2015
4. Elections in Seychelles African Elections Database
5. "Seychelles votes in presidential run-off", Agence France-Presse, 17 December 2015.
6. "Seychelles leader sworn in despite contested win", Agence France-Presse, 20 December 2015.