2020 Seychellois general election

General elections were held in Seychelles on 22–24 October 2020 to elect the President and members of the National Assembly.[2] The National Assembly elections had been due in 2021,[3] but in July 2020 were brought forward by President Danny Faure in order to hold them together with the presidential elections, a proposal supported by opposition parties.[4][5]

2020 Seychellois general election

22–24 October 2020
Presidential election
Nominee Wavel Ramkalawan Danny Faure Party SNP United Seychelles Alliance LDS None Running mate Ahmed Afif[1] Maurice Loustau-Lalanne[1] Popular vote 35,562 28,178 Percentage 54.91% 43.51%
President before election Danny Faure United Seychelles Elected President Wavel Ramkalawan LDS
Parliamentary election
All 35 seats in the National Assembly 18 seats were needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats ± LDS Roger Mancienne 54.84 25 +6 United Seychelles Vincent Meriton 42.35 10 -4 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results of the legislative election.

The presidential elections were won by Wavel Ramkalawan of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), with the LDS also increasing its majority in the National Assembly, winning 25 of the 35 seats.

Electoral system

The President of Seychelles is elected using the two-round system;[6] if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates.

Members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods; 26 (with a new constituency established in 2020) are elected from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, and up to a further ten are elected based on the percentage of votes received by each party; for each 10% of the total national vote received, a party gets one additional seat.[7][8]

Presidential campaign

In August 2019 the United Seychelles Party nominated its leader and incumbent president Danny Faure as its candidate during its thirty-third annual congress.[9] Wavel Ramkalawan from the liberal Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) and Alain St. Ange from the progressive One Seychelles Party (founded on 26 April 2019 and registered on 12 June 2019) are challenging the incumbent. While former speaker of national assembly Patrick Pillay sought nomination, the election commission rejected his candidacy on the ground that he failed to collect the required 500 signatures from registered voters.[10]

While the country recorded only 149 (mostly imported) COVID-19 cases, public health directives still impacted the campaign. For instance, public election rallies were banned. Since there are no active polling institutes, rally attendance had been used to measure support in previous elections. However, the candidates were active in social media, and also participated in the country's first televised presidential debate. The economy was a major campaign issue due to the high cost of living and recent reduction in tourism.[11] While Transparency International ranks Seychelles as one of the 30 least corrupt countries in the world, the incumbent government was considered too accommodating to offshore business interests.[12]

Results

On 25 October, Wavel Ramkalawan was declared the winner of the presidential election with 54.91% of the vote, marking the first peaceful transfer of presidential power between different political parties since independence in 1976. He had run unsuccessfully in the presidential elections from 1998 onward. Danny Faure attended Ramkalawan's victory speech; in his speech, Ramkalawan emphasized reconciliation: "In this election, there were no losers, there were no winners — our country was given the opportunity as the ultimate winner."[13]

President

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

National Assembly

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					FPTP	PR	Total	+/–
	Linyon Demokratik Seselwa	35,202	54.84	+5.25	20	5	25	+6
	United Seychelles	27,185	42.35	–6.87	6	4	10	–4
	One Seychelles	1,420	2.21	New	0	0	0	New
	Seychellois Alliance	70	0.11	New	0	0	0	New
	Independents	317	0.49	+0.28	0	0	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		1,784	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total		65,978	100	–	26	9	35	+2
Registered voters/turnout		74,634	88.40	–	–	–	–	–
Source: ECS

Results by constituency

	electoral area	LDS		US		One Seychelles		others		tot.valid	tot. turnout		tot. registered
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: [14]

Reactions

•  United States: The United States Department of State issued a statement congratulating "the Government of the Republic of Seychelles and the Seychellois people on a successful election." The Department further "congratulate[d] Reverend Wavel Ramkalawan on his election and look[s] forward to expanding cooperation on a wide range of mutual interests."[15]

References

1. First presidential debate in the run-up to the general elections ‒ October 22-24, 2020 Seychelles Nation, 10 October 2020
2. "Presidential, legislative election dates in Seychelles confirmed: Oct 22-24". Seychelles News Agency. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
3. "Seychelles' president approves Election Act amendment, creating permanent chief electoral officer position". Seychelles News Agency. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
4. "Seychelles' President decides to hold presidential, legislative elections together". Seychelles News Agency. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
5. "Opposition parties in Seychelles say they are ready to contest early legislative election". Seychelles News Agency. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
6. Republic of Seychelles: Election for President IFES
7. Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union
8. Seychelles : Constitution and politics The Commonwealth
9. United Seychelles endorses President Faure as party's candidate for 2020 election SBC, 24 August 2019
10. "Three Candidates Nominated For Seychelles October 2020 Election". allAfrica. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
11. "Seychelles votes for new president, parliament". Africanews. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
12. "Seychelles presidential vote begins". Africanews. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
13. "Seychelles election: Wavel Ramkalawan in landmark win". BBC News. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
14. 2020 National Assembly elections ECS
15. "Congratulations on Seychelles' Elections". U.S. Department of State. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.