Seychelles Elections 2025

Victoria, Seychelles (Sept. 25–27, 2025) — In the postcard-perfect islands of Seychelles, voters this week faced a choice that went far deeper than tourism slogans and white-sand serenity. Over three days of polling, citizens of this 120,000-person nation cast ballots for president and parliament, weighing not just candidates but the direction of a democracy confronting heroin addiction, environmental tension, and the challenge of safeguarding sovereignty in a globalized economy.

Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, gained independence from Britain in 1976 and was swept by a coup just one year later that brought France-Albert René to power. His socialist one-party state lasted until 1993, when the country reintroduced multi-party democracy and adopted a constitution creating a presidential republic with a 35-member National Assembly. Twenty-six members are chosen through first-past-the-post races in single-member districts, while nine are allocated proportionally based on national vote share. Presidents are elected by absolute majority, with a second round required if no candidate secures more than half the vote. Since its creation, the Electoral Commission of Seychelles has sought to strengthen transparency and ensure participation across the far-flung islands.

This year’s campaign unfolded against a backdrop of mounting pressure on those institutions. Seychelles faces one of the highest per-capita rates of heroin addiction in the world, with up to ten percent of the workforce affected — a crisis that has strained public health systems, driven crime, and unsettled the country’s social fabric. At the same time, controversy over a long-term lease of Assomption Island to Qatari developers for a luxury resort and airstrip near UNESCO-protected waters has ignited fierce debate over conservation and sovereignty.

Incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan, who made history in 2020 as the first opposition leader to defeat United Seychelles since independence, sought a second term under the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa coalition. Pointing to his government’s record on transparency, he promised to build on reforms and strengthen environmental oversight. “We are a country that is doing better than many European countries in the fight against corruption,” Ramkalawan said at a rally, appealing to voters to keep faith with his agenda.

Patrick Herminie, a former Speaker of the National Assembly and the standard-bearer for United Seychelles, offered a competing vision. He pledged to rescind the Assomption lease, expand drug rehabilitation programs, and take a tougher approach to traffickers, accusing Ramkalawan’s government of “failing to stem the tide” of addiction. Other candidates joined the field, but the race quickly hardened into a contest between two sharply defined futures: continuity under Ramkalawan’s reformist leadership or a return to the party that dominated Seychelles politics for decades.

The Electoral Commission opened polls over three days, Sept. 25 to 27, to allow voters on outer islands time to participate. Observers from the African Union and Indian Ocean Commission were deployed across the country, and reports indicated that polling stations opened on time with only minor delays caused by ferry schedules and weather disruptions. Civil society organizations stressed that credibility was paramount, urging transparency at every stage of counting and results transmission.

For many citizens, the issues felt urgent and personal. “The hotel development on Assomption has been clouded with controversy … Recent images of an injured tortoise and dredging have highlighted how urgent the situation is,” said biologist and activist Victoria Duthil, who has challenged the lease in court. Interviews on Mahé and Praslin revealed both hope and fatigue: admiration for Ramkalawan’s anti-corruption push mixed with frustration over stalled progress, and caution about returning to one-party dominance.

In Victoria, the capital, voter Jean-Paul Hoareau voiced what many called the country’s central dilemma. “We want a government that protects jobs but also the sea — because the sea is our life. Whoever wins must show respect for both,” he said, stepping out of a polling station with an inked finger.

Results are expected in the days following the close of polls, and the margin could be narrow. A Ramkalawan victory would consolidate the opposition’s transformation into a governing party and intensify pressure to accelerate drug rehabilitation programs and balance foreign investment with ecological stewardship. A Herminie victory would mark a dramatic political reversal, returning United Seychelles to power after a five-year absence and forcing the nation to test whether the old guard can deliver reforms where the new government struggled.

Whichever way the ballots fall, the vote has reasserted that democracy in Seychelles is alive and fiercely contested. In a nation where just a few thousand ballots can swing the presidency, the 2025 election is a reminder that governance here is as fragile — and as carefully defended — as the coral reefs that ring these islands, and that the world is watching to see how this small republic charts its course.

By Marina Chauffaille