2015 Seychellois presidential election
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| Registered | 70,943 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 87.40% (first round) 90.06% (second round) | |||||||||||||||||||
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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.[1] 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.[2]
Background
[edit]The elections were initially scheduled to take place between 19 and 21 November 2015, but were moved "to give more time to political parties to prepare for the elections".[3]
Campaign
[edit]The official nomination process closed on 11 November 2015. In October 2015 incumbent President James Michel of the People's Party announced his intention to run for re-election for a third and final term. Since the re-introduction of democracy in 1993,[4] candidates from the People's Party have won all presidential and parliamentary elections in Seychelles.[3]
Alexia Amesbury, leader of the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy, was the first woman to contest a presidential election in Seychelles.[1]
Results
[edit]Michel fell short of a majority in the first round, receiving about 48% of the vote, and therefore a second round was required. The second place candidate, long-time opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan, received the support of third place candidate Patrick Pillay for the second round.[5]
Michel won the second round by a very small margin, beating Ramkalawan by only 193 votes, according to results announced by the electoral commission on 19 December 2015. Ramkalawan disputed the results and requested a recount. Michel was sworn in on 20 December.[6]
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| James Michel | Danny Faure | People's Party | 28,911 | 47.76 | 31,512 | 50.15 | |
| Wavel Ramkalawan | Roger Mancienne | Seychelles National Party | 21,391 | 35.33 | 31,319 | 49.85 | |
| Patrick Pillay | Ahmed Afif | Seychellois Alliance | 8,593 | 14.19 | |||
| Alexia Amesbury | Roy Fonseka | Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy | 832 | 1.37 | |||
| Philippe Boullé | Peter Roselie | Independent | 411 | 0.68 | |||
| David Pierre | Hervé Anthony | Popular Democratic Movement | 400 | 0.66 | |||
| Total | 60,538 | 100.00 | 62,831 | 100.00 | |||
| Valid votes | 60,538 | 97.64 | 62,831 | 98.34 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,466 | 2.36 | 1,062 | 1.66 | |||
| Total votes | 62,004 | 100.00 | 63,893 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 70,943 | 87.40 | 70,943 | 90.06 | |||
| Source: ECS | |||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Seychelles presidential race heading for run-off within 14 days - no candidate wins absolute majority after 'highly contested'", Seychelles News Agency, 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Seychelles president re-elected, opposition cries foul", Reuters, 19 December 2015.
- ^ a b Presidential elections in Seychelles rescheduled for December 3rd to 5th Seychelles News Agency, 13 October 2015
- ^ Elections in Seychelles African Elections Database
- ^ "Seychelles votes in presidential run-off", Agence France-Presse, 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Seychelles leader sworn in despite contested win", Agence France-Presse, 20 December 2015.
