VICTORIA (Reuters) -Voters in Seychelles returned to the polls on Thursday for a run-off between the incumbent president and the leader of the longtime governing party, which has already reclaimed a majority in parliament.
In the first round last month, Patrick Herminie, a former National Assembly speaker from the United Seychelles party, outpaced President Wavel Ramkalawan by more than 2 percentage points, with 48.8% of the more than 64,000 ballots cast.
“I think the people of Seychelles want a balance of power to get the best deal,” Ramkalawan told Reuters.
His Linyon Demokratik Seselwa coalition lost its parliamentary majority in last month’s vote, so he would preside over a divided government if he were to win.
Voting began on outlying islands and for some essential workers on Thursday, with polling stations on the three main islands set to open on Saturday. Results are due on Sunday.
Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest, came to power in 2020, becoming the first president from outside United Seychelles – formerly the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front – since a coup one year after independence from Britain in 1976.
He has touted his management of Seychelles’ economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he needs a second five-year term to build social protection and infrastructure while defending the country’s neutrality to draw investment.
Africa’s wealthiest country per capita, the Indian Ocean archipelago sprawling over 463,000 square miles (1.1 million sq km) is a tourist haven as well as a target for investment from, and security cooperation with, China, Gulf nations and India.
The nation of 115 islands is, however, also among the world’s most climate vulnerable, and has one of the highest per-capita rates of heroin use.
OPPOSITION AIMS TO REGAIN CONTROL
Ramkalawan’s opponent Herminie, who was arrested in 2023 on charges of witchcraft that were later dropped, aims to restore United Seychelles’ control of both the presidency and parliament for the first time since 2015.
He has been boosted by endorsements from candidates eliminated in the first round, such as Marco Francis, who won about 2% of the vote.
“We needed just 1% to win State House,” Herminie said at a rally. “That means 500 votes. And today, I’m telling you: we will get those 500 votes and go to State House on October 11.”
His platform includes lowering the retirement age that Ramkalawan raised and cancelling a hotel project environmentalists say threatens a UNESCO-listed coral atoll.
(Editing by Ed Osmond and Clarence Fernandez)
