Seychellois presidential election, 2011
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Seychelles |
A presidential election was held in Seychelles from 19 May to 21 May 2011.[1]
The election will be contested by at least four candidates:
- Philippe Boullé, independent candidate who also ran in 1993, 2001 and 2006, with Henry Naiken as his running mate;
- James Michel, incumbent president running for election for a second term, representing the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, with incumbent vice president Danny Faure as his running mate;
- Wavel Ramkalawan, the current Leader of the Opposition, who achieved 45% of the popular vote in the last presidential election in 2006, a significant increase over the last two presidential elections for which he stood as a candidate for the Seychelles National Party (SNP); his running mate in Nicholas Prea, an elected member of the Seychelles National assembly, representing the District of Bel Ombre. Prea has been elected Member for Belombre for more than a decade.
- Ralph Volcere, running for the first time, as a representative of the New Democratic Party, with his running mate Georges Bibi, a former Member of the Seychelles National Assembly (representing the Seychelles Democratic Party, which renamed itself to New Democratic Party);
The elections where reviewed by independent observers from the Southern African Development Community, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Local independent NGO groups have applied for accreditation as observers, given their understanding of the Creole language and their knowledge of districts and past polling concerns. The Electoral Commissioner has denied observer status to all local observer applicants. A "cooling-off" period is underway for three days before the election when no electioneeering, campaigning or wearing of campaign material or party colours is permitted by regulation. Electioneering material must be removed from all sites within 500 metres of all polling stations before the elections. The first day of the elections is 19 May 2011 commencing on the Outer Islands, then 20 May 2011 on the Inner Islands and 21 May the main island of Mahé.
The results continue a similar trend seen in previous presidential elections in Seychelles, with James Michel winning 55% of the votes. The results were announced late at night on Saturday 21 May 2011. The main opposition candidate Wavel Ramkalawan obtained 41%.
| Candidates – Parties | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Michel – People's Party | 31,966 | 55.46 | |
| Wavel Ramkalawan – Seychelles National Party | 23,878 | 41.43 | |
| Philippe Boullé – independent | 956 | 1.66 | |
| Ralph Volcere – New Democratic Party | 833 | 1.45 | |
| Total (turnout %) | 57,633 | 100.00 | |
| Source: Office of the President of the Republic of Seychelles | |||
