SEYCHELLES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HEADING FOR RUN OFF AS BREAKAWAY FACTION FRAGMENTS VOTE
(Posted 06th December 2015)
Presidential elections in Africa have regularly known their own drama but not in the Seychelles where voting ended yesterday after three days across the entire archipelago. Incumbent President James Alix Michel, as expected, gathered the most votes, some 28.911 or 47.76 percent, relegating his rivals by some distance with the nearest of the other five challengers, Mr. John Wavel Ramkawalan reaching 20.540 votes or 33.93 percent.
However, this tally was not enough to secure an outright victory for President James Alix Michel, causing a run off on December 16th, 17th and 18th according to an announcement by the Electoral Commission late last night on the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation’s television service.
The shortfall in votes for the Parti Lepep candidate President Michel was prompted by a breakaway faction from the ruling party, which, while failing to get enough votes to stay in contention for the runoff – candidate Patrick Pillay of the Lalyans Seselwa party received 8.593 votes or 14.19 percent – nevertheless fragmented the ruling party vote thus prompting the election re-run later in December.
Tourism sources from the island were swift to point out that the renewed campaign ahead of the runoff vote will be equally exemplary and peaceful, inspite what is at stake and the latest arrival figures in fact indicate that even over the voting days the flow of tourists to the island continued with the usual upswing which has seen the archipelago add a whopping 19 percent in numbers compared to a year ago.
‘True, a runoff election must now be held and also true as you asked, this is happening a week before Christmas. We in Seychelles take great pride in our democracy. The election is the best example that there is democracy in Seychelles. We all had wished for this to be decided in the first round but that was not to be. I am sure that both sides in the runoff election are mature individuals and parties and the initial results already speak a strong language where the voters wanted to see our country go to. There will be renewed campaigning and no doubt alliance building going on but tourists will most likely not see much of that. Tourism is the backbone of our economy. We are 19 percent ahead in another record breaking year which was made possible by the combined efforts of private sector and public sector. Visitors to Seychelles who plan to spend their Christmas and New Year holidays here have nothing to worry about. The islands will remain the same over the next two weeks like it has been for the past two weeks or two months’ said a regular source from within the tourism industry in an email received a short while ago.
The other three candidates only gathered 2.12 percent, 1.33 percent and 0.67 percent respectively playing no further role in the run-off though their voters will of course have to make up their mind for whom to cast their votes come election time. Watch this space for reports from the archipelago ahead, during and after the re-run.
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