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All 15 seats in the Legislative Assembly 8 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Winning party by district | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held in the Seychelles in November 1970. The result was a victory for the Seychelles Democratic Party, which won 10 of the 15 seats. [1]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seychelles Democratic Party | 18,972 | 52.82 | 10 | +6 | |
| Seychelles People's United Party | 15,834 | 44.08 | 5 | +2 | |
| Liberal Party | 1,082 | 3.01 | 0 | New | |
| Seychellois Christian Labour Party | 29 | 0.08 | 0 | New | |
| Total | 35,917 | 100.00 | 15 | +7 | |
| Source: Sternberger et al. [2] | |||||
Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago to the east. Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 100,600 in 2022.
The politics of Seychelles have historical roots in both one-party socialism and autocratic rule. Following independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, Seychelles was a sovereign republic until 1977, when the original President and leader of the Seychelles Democratic Party, James Mancham, was overthrown in a bloodless coup by the Prime Minister France-Albert René. René installed a single-party socialist state under the Seychelles People's Progressive Front in 1979 which remained in power until 1993, when multiparty elections took place for the first time since independence, after restoring the multi-party system in 1991. Modern day Seychelles governance takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Seychelles is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
France-Albert René was a Seychellois lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the second President of Seychelles from 1977 to 2004. He also served as the country's second Prime Minister from its independence in 1976 to 1977.
The flag of Seychelles was adopted on 8 January 1996. The current flag is the third used by the country since its independence from the United Kingdom on 29 June 1976. The colours used in the current flag are the official colours of two of the country's major political parties: the Seychelles People's United Party and the Seychelles Democratic Party.
James Alix Michel, GCSK is a Seychellois politician who served as the third President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016. He previously served as vice president under his predecessor, France-Albert René, from 1996 to 2004.
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The Seychelles National Party(SNP) is a liberal political party in Seychelles. Its followers emphasize active multiparty democracy, respect for human rights and liberal economic reforms. It was founded in response to what it called the "totalitarian regime" of former President France-Albert René. It publishes a newsletter called Regar, which is frequently sued for libel by government officials. On Regar's front page of every issue is a quote from the constitution of Seychelles invoking their right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
Wavel Ramkalawan is a Seychellois politician and Anglican priest who has been serving as the President of Seychelles since 26 October 2020. Ramkalawan was an opposition MP from 1993 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. On 25 October 2020, Ramkalawan won the presidential election, the country's first such victory for an opposition candidate since independence, marking its first successful peaceful transition of power.
The unicameral National Assembly is the Seychelles's legislative body.
Articles related to Seychelles include:
The history of Seychelles dates back to the fourth of the Portuguese India Armadas led by Vasco da Gama, though Seychelles was likely already known to Arab navigators and other sailors for many centuries. On 15 March 1503, the scrivener Thomé Lopes noted the sighting of an elevated island, doubtless one of the granitic islands and almost certainly Silhouette Island. The first recorded landing was by the men of the English East India Company ship Ascension, which arrived in Seychelles in January 1609.The islands were claimed by France in 1756. Seychelles remained uninhabited until the first settlers arrived on board the ship Thélemaque, which arrived on 27 August 1770. Captain Leblanc Lecore landed the first colonists, comprising 15 white men, eight Africans and five Indians. The Seychellois Creole language developed as a means of communication between the different races. The British frigate Orpheus commanded by Captain Henry Newcome arrived at Mahé on 16 May 1794. Terms of capitulation were drawn up and the next day Seychelles was surrendered to Britain. Following the fall of Mauritius to British forces, Captain Phillip Beaver of the Nisus arrived at Mahé on 23 April 1811 and took possession of Seychelles as a permanent colony of Britain. The Seychelles became an independent republic in 1976. Following a coup d'état, a socialist one-party state ruled the country from 1977 to 1993. The subsequent democratic Presidential elections were won by candidates of the same party.
The 2016 United Nations Security Council election was held on 28 June during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2017. In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats were allocated as follows:
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. 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.
The Electoral Commission of Seychelles is the body that organise, oversee and regulate political elections in Seychelles. Currently headed by Hendrick Gappy, the body is also charged with the responsibilities of registering political parties in Seychelles.
Parliamentary elections were held in Seychelles from 8 to 10 September 2016. Three parties and three independent candidates ran for the 25 directly-elected seats. The result was a victory for the opposition Linyon Demokratik Seselwa alliance, which won 19 of the 33 seats. It was the first time since the 1979 elections that the People's Party did not win a majority of seats.
The 1977 Seychelles coup d'état was a virtually bloodless coup that occurred in the East African and Indian Ocean country of Seychelles on 4–5 June 1977. Between 60–200 supporters of the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP), who had been training in Tanzania, overthrew President Sir James Mancham of the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) whilst he was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, the United Kingdom.
General elections were held in Seychelles on 22–24 October 2020 to elect the President and members of the National Assembly. The National Assembly elections had been due in 2021, 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.
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