Opposition leader Patrick Herminie has been declared the winner of Seychelles’s presidential election, defeating incumbent Wavel Ramkalawan in a closely contested run-off that marks a dramatic political shift for the island nation.
Official results released by the electoral commission early Sunday showed Herminie securing 52.7 percent of the vote against Ramkalawan’s 47.3 percent. His victory hands the United Seychelles party full control of government after it also reclaimed a parliamentary majority during last month’s general election.
“The people have spoken,” the 62-year-old said in his victory address at the electoral commission headquarters. “I will be the president of all Seychellois. I will end divisions, stop favouritism, and give everyone the opportunity to thrive.”
Thousands of jubilant supporters flooded the streets of Victoria waving national flags and party banners as Herminie, a former speaker of parliament, emerged from the commission building to greet the crowds. Images shared by the Seychelles Nation newspaper showed Herminie shaking hands with Ramkalawan, who conceded defeat and offered his congratulations.
“I leave with a legacy that makes many presidents blush,” Ramkalawan said. “I hope President Herminie maintains that level.”
Herminie’s win completes a remarkable political comeback for the physician-turned-politician, who was arrested on now-dismissed witchcraft charges in 2023. He campaigned on promises to lower the cost of living, strengthen public services, reduce the retirement age from 65 to 63, and implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
He also vowed to cancel a controversial hotel project on a UNESCO-listed coral atoll and tackle Seychelles’s worsening heroin crisis, which affects up to 10 percent of the country’s 120,000 citizens.
With his victory, Herminie becomes Seychelles’s sixth president, inheriting an economy reliant on tourism and facing pressure to balance environmental protection with development in one of Africa’s most prosperous nations.
