Voters in Seychelles returned to the polls on Thursday for a decisive presidential run-off that will determine whether incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan retains power or cedes control to Patrick Herminie, leader of the opposition United Seychelles party.
The election comes after Herminie outpaced Ramkalawan in last month’s first round, securing 48.8% of the more than 64,000 ballots cast, over two percentage points ahead of the president.
Neither candidate achieved the 50% threshold needed to win outright, setting up a closely contested second round that will also decide whether the opposition completes its comeback after reclaiming a parliamentary majority.
“I think the people of Seychelles want a balance of power to get the best deal,” Ramkalawan told Reuters ahead of the vote.
His Linyon Demokratik Seselwa coalition lost its majority in parliament during last month’s legislative elections, raising the prospect of a divided government if he is re-elected.
Voting began Thursday on the country’s remote islands and for essential workers, while polling stations on the three main islands, Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, will open on Saturday. Results are expected on Sunday.
Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest who came to power in 2020, was the first president from outside the United Seychelles party, formerly the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front, since a 1977 coup, one year after independence from Britain.
He has campaigned on his record of steering the country’s economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting Seychelles’ neutrality to attract foreign investment.
He pledges to expand social protection programs and improve infrastructure in the Indian Ocean nation of 115 islands, which spans about 463,000 square miles (1.1 million sq km).
While the archipelago remains Africa’s wealthiest country per capita and a global tourist haven, it faces mounting challenges from climate change and one of the world’s highest rates of heroin addiction.
Herminie, a former National Assembly speaker, aims to restore United Seychelles’ control of both the presidency and parliament for the first time since 2015.
His campaign has been buoyed by endorsements from eliminated candidates, including Marco Francis, who won around 2% of the first-round vote.
“We needed just 1% to win State House, that’s about 500 votes,” Herminie told supporters at a rally. “And today, I’m telling you: we will get those 500 votes and go to State House on October 11.”
Herminie, who was arrested in 2023 on now-dropped witchcraft charges, has promised to reverse some of Ramkalawan’s policies, including lowering the retirement age and cancelling a controversial hotel project that environmentalists say threatens a UNESCO-listed coral atoll.
The outcome of Sunday’s vote will determine whether Seychelles continues Ramkalawan’s reform agenda or returns to the long-dominant United Seychelles, which governed the country for more than four decades.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
