Chamber:
	National Assembly
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	6 December 2002 6 December 2002
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all members of Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body in October 2002. General elections had previously been held in March 1998.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 29 October 2002, the National Assembly voted in favour of dissolution to pave the way for new general elections, subsequently held on 4, 5 and 6 December 2002. During the electoral campaign, tensions ran high among supporters of the two main parties on the islands, the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) of President France Albert Rene and the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP). Police banned the sale and consumption of alcohol near polling stations during the three-day voting period after one person was stabbed to death in fighting between supporters of rival parties. Around 62,350 registered voters were called to cast their votes, and some 85 per cent actually turned out. The elections went smoothly and both teams of international observers from the International Organisation of French Speaking Countries (OIF) and the European Parliament described the elections as "free and fair". The governing SPPF won 18 of the 25 seats at stake. The opposition SNP, winner of only one seat in the 1998 elections, improved its tally to seven directly elected seats. As one proportionally elected seat is allocated for each ten per cent of votes won, the SPPF, that had polled over 54 per cent of the votes, was entitled to an additional five proportionally elected seats. The SNP polled over 40 per cent of the votes and was thus entitled to four additional proportionally elected members. The other main party contesting the election, the Democratic Party (DP), polled less than 10 per cent of the votes and therefore did not qualify for proportionally elected seats. It will thus be absent from the Assembly for the first time since democracy was restored in 1992. The Social Democratic Alliance's sole candidate failed to get elected. The new National Assembly was sworn on 17 December 2002. Outgoing Speaker FMr. rancis MacGregor was re-elected.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (4 December 2002): Elections results
Number of registered electors	62 350
Voters	52 699 (85 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	969
Valid votes	51 730

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Proportional	Majority
Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF)	23	5	18
Seychelles National Party (SNP)	11	4	7

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	24
Women:	10
Percent of women:	29.41