| Parliament name |
National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 10 May 2007
12 May 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all members of the National Assembly following the premature dissolution of this body on 20 March 2007. Elections had previously been held in December 2002. |
Parliamentary elections were held from 10 to 12 May 2007
following the early dissolution of the National Assembly.
President James Michel of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) dissolved the National Assembly on 20 March 2007 following a protest led by the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP)
as a result of a controversial decision by the National Assembly to prohibit political parties and religious group from obtaining radio broadcasting licences.
In the 2007 elections
the SNP and the Democratic Party fielded joint candidates for the first time under the SNP banner. The elections were thus a de facto duel between the SPPF
in power since a coup in 1977 led by former President France-Albert René
and the SNP.
President Michel's SPPF extolled his government's economic achievements
with annual growth exceeding five per cent. It argued that the SNP would hamper economic development. SNP leader Mr. Ramkalawan argued the 2007 elections should be a referendum on the SPPF's 30 years of government. He called on voters to support a real multi-party system
rather than giving another mandate to the SPPF.
A total of 85.9 per cent of the 65
000 eligible voters turned out at the polls.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) monitored the polls. The former found the elections to be transparent.
The 2007 elections returned exactly the same party configuration as the outgoing parliament: 23 seats to the SPPF and 11 to the SNP. In all
eight women were elected
two fewer than in the 2002 elections.
The newly-elected National Assembly held its first session on 29 May
and elected Mr. Patrick Herminie (SPPF) as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 (from/to) | 10 May 2007
12 May 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
64'993
55'827 (85.9%)
1'393
54'434 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) |
|
30'571 |
|
|
56.20 |
1.90 |
|
| Seychelles National Party (SNP) |
|
23'869 |
|
|
43.80 |
1.20 |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
Proportional |
|
|
| Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) |
23
|
18 |
5 |
|
|
| Seychelles National Party (SNP) |
11
|
7 |
4 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
26
8
23.53%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
1
7
19
6
1
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Souces:
- Permanent Mission of the Republic of Seychelles to the United Nations (15.05.2007)
- National Assembly (06.06.2007
22.02.2008) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
