Related Research Articles
Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelagic island country consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean at the eastern edge of the Somali Sea. 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 regions of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago to the east. It is the least populous sovereign African country, with an estimated 2020 population of 98,462.
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 which remained in place until 1993, when multiparty elections took place for the first time since independence. 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.
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.
Seychelles elects on national level a head of state—the president—and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly/Assemblée Nationale has 34 members elected for terms of five years, 25 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 9 members elected by proportional representation. Seychelles has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party.
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 first such victory for an opposition candidate since independence.
The unicameral National Assembly is the Seychelles's legislative body.
Anse Royale is an administrative district of Seychelles located on the island of Mahé. The Seychelles Polytechnic School of the Humanities is located in this district.
Patrick Georges Pillay is a Seychellois politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Seychelles from 2016 to 2018. Previously he served as Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Health. In 2010, he was appointed resident High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Seychelles passport are issued to citizens of Seychelles to travel outside the country.
Jean-François Gabriel Ferrari is a Seychellois politician member of the National Assembly of Seychelles. On 3 November 2020, he was sworn in as Designated Minister and Minister of Fisheries.
Nicholas Prea is a speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles. An engineer by profession, he is a member of the Seychelles National Party.
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.
Tamil-Seychellois are people of Tamil ethnic origin living in the island nation of Seychelles. Their population is approximately 4000, making them one of the country's significant minorities.
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.
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.
Events in the year 2021 in Seychelles.
References
  | This Seychellois biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |