Seychelles pushes its presidential race into a second round after none of the eight contenders crossed the 50% threshold in round one. Patrick Herminie of United Seychelles led the pack with 48.8% of votes, closely followed by incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychellois Democratic Union (Linyon Demokratik Seselwa, LDS) at 46.4%.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the runoff vote for October 9–11. Under the Seychelles Constitution, a candidate must secure an outright majority in the first round to win. Otherwise, the top two candidates advance to a decisive second ballot.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly election results showed a shifting balance of power: United Seychelles captured 20 seats, while the LDS took 15.
“I would like to thank the people of Seychelles for making the very wise decision to revisit the percentage of representation in the National Assembly and to give me that support of almost 49 percent so that I can go into a second round,” Herminie said after the official announcement.
For his part, Ramkalawan congratulated the United Seychelles on its Assembly majority. “It is my second time going into a second round. I pray only for peace, that we conduct a civilized campaign, and I look forward to this next fight,” he added.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
