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Seychelles National Party

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seychelles National Party
LeaderWavel Ramkalawan
Secretary-GeneralNicholas Prea
FounderGérard Hoarau
Founded1994
HeadquartersVictoria
NewspaperRegar
IdeologyLiberalism
Political positionCentre[1]
International affiliationAfrica Liberal Network
ColoursGreen
National Assembly
19 / 32
Website
www.snpseychelles.sc

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 SNP was formed by the merger of three separate opposition parties in 1994: the Seychelles National Movement, led by Gérard Hoarau; the National Alliance Party, led by Philippe Boullé (an independent presidential candidate in the 2001 presidential election); and Parti Seselwa, led by Wavel Ramkalawan.

Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest, is the SNP's current leader. He won 44.9% of the vote in the 2001 presidential election, behind René (54.2%) and ahead of Boullé (0.9%). At parliamentary elections in December 2002, the SNP won 42.6% of the vote and 11 seats out of 34. Seven members were directly elected and four were chosen by proportional representation.

The July/August 2006 presidential elections gave James Michel of the SPPF 54% of the votes and Wavel Ramkalawan 46% of the votes. The last Presidential elections held in December 2015 saw SNP achieving only 35% of the popular votes in the first round. It joined with other smaller political parties under the banner of Union for Change to contest the second round of the Presidential Elections. The Union achieved 49.85% of the popular votes leaving the incumbent President James Michel to claim a slim victory.

The election of the National Assembly was held on the 22–24 October 2020. The Seychelles National Party, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy and the Seychelles United Party formed a coalition, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS). LDS won 25 seats and US got 10 seats of the 35 seats of the National Assembly. In the simultaneous presidential election Wavel Ramkalawan won and he was the first president since 1977 who did not represent the long-term ruling party.[2][3]

Electoral history

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Presidential elections

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Election Party candidate Votes % Votes % Result
First round Second round
1998 Wavel Ramkalawan 9,098 19.5% - - Lost Red XN
2001 22,581 44.9% - - Lost Red XN
2006 25,626 45.71% - - Lost Red XN
2011 23,878 41.43% - - Lost Red XN
2015 21,391 35.33% 31,319 49.85% Lost Red XN
2020 35,562 54.91% - - Elected Green tickY

National Assembly elections

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Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Result
1992 Wavel Ramkalawan 259 0.6%
0 / 22
Steady Increase 6th Extra-parliamentary
1993 4,163

(as part of United Opposition)

9.7%
1 / 33
Increase 1 Increase 3rd Opposition
1998 12,084

(as part of United Opposition)

26.1%
3 / 34
Increase 2 Increase 2nd Opposition
2002 22,030 42.59%
11 / 34
Increase 8 Steady 2nd Opposition
2007 23,869

in alliance with SDP

43.43%
11 / 34
Steady Steady 2nd Opposition
2011 Boycotted
0 / 31
Decrease 11 Extra-parliamentary
2016 30,444

(as part of LDS)

49.59%
19 / 33
Increase 19 Increase 2nd Opposition majority
2020 35,202

(as part of LDS)

54.84%
25 / 35
Increase 6 Increase 1st LDS coalition government

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Elections in Seychelles
  2. ^ "Seychelles elections: How a priest rose to become president". BBC News. 28 October 2020.
  3. ^ "EISA Seychelles: 2020 National Assembly election results overview".
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