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All 34 seats in the National Assembly 18 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the legislative election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held in Seychelles from 29 September to 1 October 2011. The elections were boycotted by all the main opposition parties. As a result, the People's Party won 33 of the 34 seats in the National Assembly.
The 2011 elections in Seychelles were the fifth round of democratic elections since the country became an independent republic and separated from the United Kingdom. The Seychelles became a one-party state under France-Albert René, but were restored to a multi-party system beginning in 1991. The previous National Assembly elections in 2007 had not seen any change in seats for any parties. [1] The 2011 National Assembly elections, which were initially supposed to occur in April 2012, were held earlier than expected due to a dissolution of the National Assembly on July 12, 2011. The dissolution was temporarily invalidated by the Constitutional Court on 18 July 2011 on procedural grounds; the Court ordered the Assembly to reconvene on 19 July 2011. However, the Assembly was dissolved in July. The leading opposition parties SNP and NDP both boycotted the election, leading to the overwhelming People's Party victory.
The 2011 elections were the first democratic elections in the country since the 2008 economic crisis. Previously, the Seychellois economy was characterized by price, trade and foreign exchange controls, a prominent role for parastatal companies, and robust debt-funded development spending, leading to the near-depletion of official foreign exchange reserves in October 2008. Seychelles defaulted on interest payments, which severely damaged its credibility as a borrower. The government subsequently turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support, and in an attempt to meet the conditions for a stand-by loan, began implementing a program of radical reforms. The economic circumstances led the leading People's Party to abandon many of its more socialist stances in favor of economic liberalization. [2]
Selection of National Assembly representatives comes from the 25 administrative regions. The National Assembly is called The Seychelles National Assembly and consists of 32 members, of which 25 are directly elected representing the 25 electoral districts in the country through first past the post. Seven are proportionately elected depending on the percentage of votes each party has. [3]
The Seychelles National Party, the main opposition party, decided to boycott the election to protest the government's failure to revise electoral laws about the amount of money parties could spend on campaigning. [8] The People’s Party (PL) garnered 88.56% or 31,123 of the vote. The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) earned about 10.89% or 3,828 of the vote. Independent candidates garnered only 194 votes, all from one district, which accounted for 0.55% of the vote. These percentages are calculated out of the total number of valid votes cast. There were 16,447 invalid votes cast out of 51,592 total votes cast. This means that only 68.12% of votes cast were valid. Voter turnout was 74.3% of 69,480 registered voters. The PL won in all 25 districts, giving them every directly elected seat. Because they won such a large percentage of the total vote, they also won eight of the nine proportionally allocated seats. After the 2011 election, the PL controlled 33 of the 34 seats in the National Assembly.
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
| FPTP | PR | Total | +/– | |||||
| People's Party | 31,123 | 88.56 | 25 | 8 | 33 | +10 | ||
| Popular Democratic Movement | 3,828 | 10.89 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New | ||
| Independents | 194 | 0.55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35,145 | 100.00 | 25 | 9 | 34 | 0 | ||
| Valid votes | 35,145 | 68.12 | ||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 16,447 | 31.88 | ||||||
| Total votes | 51,592 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 69,480 | 74.25 | ||||||
| Source: ECS, IPU | ||||||||
The National Assembly election was boycotted by both the main opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP) and the New Democratic Party (NDP). A small breakaway faction of the SNP called the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) did contest the election, but earned no seats in parliament. PDM leader David Pierre and Parti Lepep (People’s Party) leader James Michel both expressed dissatisfaction with the way parliamentary sears were distributed - Michel argued that PP should have been given all of the seats, given their overwhelming majority, while Pierre had expected to gain at least one seat in parliament. Pierre argued further that the dominance of Parti Lepep boded ill for the fate of multi-party democracy in Seychelles, and that there was now no platform through which opposition could be voiced. Nonetheless, the election was declared to be largely free and fair according to monitors from the Southern African Development Community. [9] [10] [11]
Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 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 2nd Prime Minister from its independence in 1976 to 1977.
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.
United Seychelles is a political party in Seychelles. It publishes a newspaper called The People. It was known as the Seychelles People's Progressive Front until June 2009, when it changed its name to the People's Party. The party changed its name again in November 2018, from the People's Party to United Seychelles.
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.
The New Democratic Party of Quebec is a federalist and social-democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The party is a revival of the comparable Nouveau Parti Démocratique du Québec, which existed in various forms as the federal New Democratic Party (NDP)'s provincial affiliate in Quebec from 1963 to 1991. The current party, however, is not affiliated with the federal NDP. The modern party was registered on 30 January 2014.
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.
Presidential elections were held in the Seychelles between 28 and 30 July 2006. Incumbent president James Michel of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front was re-elected with 54% of the vote.
The Parti de la démocratie socialiste was a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada.
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 New Democratic Party is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic, the party occupies the left to centre-left on the political spectrum, sitting to the left of the Liberal Party. The party was founded in 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).
David Pierre is a Seychellois politician and teacher. He was a member of the Seychelles National Party until 2011. He then founded the Popular Democratic Movement.
Presidential elections were held in the Seychelles between 19 and 21 May 2011, commencing on the Outer Islands on 19 May, with Inner Islands voting on 20 May and Mahé on 21 May. The result was a victory for incumbent President James Michel of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, who received 55% of the vote in the first round.
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.
Linyon Demokratik Seselwa is a liberal political coalition which has governed since 2016 in the Seychelles. They have 25 seats in the National Assembly. The coalition was originally made up of the four main opposition parties: the Seychelles National Party (SNP) led by Wavel Ramkalawan, the Seychellois Alliance (LS) led by Patrick Pillay, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy led by Alexia Amesbury and the Seychelles United Party led by Robert Ernesta. The Seychellois Alliance left the coalition in February 2018 after the resignation of their leader Patrick Pillay as speaker and member of the National Assembly in January 2018.
Annette Mary Solange Georges is a lawyer, Seychellois politician and the first leader of the Seychelles United Opposition Party.
The Seychellois Alliance or Lalyans Seselwa was a political party in Seychelles.
Francesca Monnaie is a Seychelles politician who served as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from 17 May 2016 until 27 September 2016. She was Secretary-General of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) from 2011 to 2016.
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