| Parliament name |
National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 29 September 2011
1 October 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all members of the National Assembly following the early dissolution of this body on 19 July 2011. Elections had previously been held in May 2007. |
Early elections to the National Assembly were held between 29 September and 1 October 2011. They were constitutionally due by April 2012.
In the previous elections held in May 2007, President James Michel's Seychelles People's Progressive Front (Parti Lepep, SPPF), in power since 1977, took 23 seats in the 34-member National Assembly. The opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP), which fielded candidates jointly with the Democratic Party, took the remainder.
In the presidential elections held in May 2011, President Michel triumphed over Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan (SNP). The latter, who had accused the President of corruption and vote-buying during the election campaign, contested the election results. The government denied the allegation and the SNP started to boycott parliamentary sessions.
On 12 July, the National Assembly adopted a motion to dissolve itself in view of early elections. The support of two SNP members helped the SPPF to pass the motion, which required a two-thirds majority of votes.
The SNP argued that the dissolution was unconstitutional due to procedural errors. Furthermore, Speaker Patrick Herminie (SPPF) rejected a request from the SNP to unseat the two SNP members who had voted for dissolution. SNP leader Ramkalawan subsequently brought both issues before the Constitutional Court.
On 19 July, the Constitutional Court ruled that the vote on the dissolution of the National Assembly was invalid as notice for the vote had not been given in accordance with the law and the regulations governing such a vote.
Speaker Herminie accepted the court ruling and suggested that the National Assembly hold another vote duly respecting the requirements rather than appeal to the Supreme Court. Later the same day, the National Assembly voted to dissolve itself, thus paving the way for a general election within 90 days. Elections were subsequently called for 29 September to 1 October.
On 22 August, the SNP announced that it would boycott the 2011 elections, calling on the government to postpone them. It argued that the current electoral system allowed the government to have an electoral advantage, and that the electoral system should therefore be reformed before new elections. Among other things, it demanded the independence of the electoral commission. The Deputy Secretary-General of the SNP, Mr. David Pierre, subsequently quit the SNP and formed the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) with a view to participating in the 2011 elections.
President Michel called on voters' support for the SPPF in order to pursue the democratic development of the country. He pledged to forge national unity for a "new Seychelles". He regretted the SNP's decision to boycott the election and praised PDM leader Pierre for his willingness to be part of the democratic process and to give a voice to the opposition.
The PDM pledged to offer a "different opposition approach" and to push for electoral reforms. It underscored the need for an opposition in the National Assembly in a democratic country.
In all, 74.25 per cent of the 69,500 registered voters turned out at the polls, down from 85.90 per cent recorded in 2007.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said that the electoral process and procedures were "credible and transparent".
In addition to the 25 seats filled under the majority system, up to ten compensatory seats may be allotted to parties that obtained more than 10 per cent of the valid votes. The SPPF took a total of 31 seats: all 25 constituency seats and six compensatory seats. The PDM failed to win seats under either system. It won more than 10 per cent of the total number of votes, but less then 10 per cent of the valid votes.
The PDM argued that each party's share of valid votes should be used to calculate the threshold to win seats under the proportional representation system and subsequently submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
On 11 October, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and re-elected Mr. Patrick Herminie (SPPF) as its Speaker.
On 25 October, the Constitutional Court rejected the PDM's appeal. The PDM subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal.
On 9 December, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the PDM's appeal and ordered the Election Commission to grant it one seat. The PDM member was sworn in on 15 December and subsequently elected Leader of the Opposition. The Court also ordered to allot two more seats to the SPPF which had taken over 80 per cent of valid votes but had been allotted only six seats under the proportional representation system. As of 15 December the additional SPPF members had not been nominated. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 (from/to) | 29 September 2011
1 October 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
69'480
51'592 (74.25%)
16'447
35'145 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Seychelles People's Progressive Front (Parti Lepep, SPPF) |
|
31'123 |
|
|
88.56 |
|
|
| Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) |
|
3'828 |
|
|
10.89 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
Proportional |
|
|
| Seychelles People's Progressive Front (Parti Lepep, SPPF) |
33
|
25 |
8 |
|
|
| Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
17
14
45.16%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
National Assembly (11.10.2011, 13.12.2011)
http://www.nation.sc/
http://www.ecs.sc/pages/elections/Default.aspx
http://www.sppf.sc/pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=200:parti-lepep-candidates-for-2011&catid=3:newsflash
Note on the number of women:
Women won 11 of the 25 seats filled under the majority system and three women were nominated under the compensatory seats, bringing the total number of women to 14 out of the full 31 members (45.16%). |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
