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United Seychelles

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United Seychelles
LeaderPatrick Herminie
FounderFrance-Albert René
Founded2 June 1964 (1964-06-02)
NewspaperThe People
Women's wingUnited Seychelles Women's League
IdeologyDemocratic socialism
Social democracy
1977–1991:
Communism[citation needed]
Marxism–Leninism[citation needed]
Political positionCentre-left to left-wing
1977–1991:
Far-left
National Assembly
10 / 35
Website
weareunitedseychelles.com
Old party flag

United Seychelles is a political party in Seychelles. It publishes a newspaper called The People. It was known as the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (French: Front Progressiste du Peuple Seychellois) from 1978/9 to June 2009, when it changed its name to the People's Party (Seychellois Creole: Parti Lepep, PL).[1] The party changed its name again in November 2018, from the People's Party to United Seychelles.[2][3]

The party was founded in 1964 by France-Albert René,[4] under the name Seychelles People's United Party, and it was led by him from its inception. The party was the ruling party from 1977 to 2020 and was the sole legal party in the country from 1979 to 1991 (this period is referred to retrospectively as the "Second Republic"). The party is led by a Central Executive Committee.

Leading members of the party over the years have been René, James Michel (formerly the chief of staff of the armed forces, information minister, finance minister and vice president from 1996 to 2004; he was the President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016), Guy Sinon, Jacques Hodoul (a former foreign minister who was regarded as the party's chief ideologue), Joseph Belmont (former Vice president of Seychelles), and Maxime Ferrari (a former René loyalist who later supported the opposition and wrote an autobiography).

Former Vice president of Seychelles Vincent Meriton has been the leader of the party since June 2017 (party president). He is the third president of the party since its creation in 1964. Meriton was preceded by former President of Seychelles James Michel.[5]

During the era of one-party rule, the party was funded by dues paid by its members and from foreign governments including Tanzania, Algeria, Libya and East Germany.[citation needed]

The party maintains branches in each electoral district and utilizes an extensive system of patronage. At the parliamentary election in 2011, the party won 88.56% of the popular vote and all 31 seats in the National Assembly. That fell to 49.22% and 14 seats in the national assembly after the parliamentary election in 2016, leaving the party in parliamentary opposition for the first time. From 1993 (when opposition parties were legalised) to 2011, candidates from the party won all the presidential elections in the first round,[6] while in 2016 they won in the second round, and in 2020 they lost for the first time. The party also held a majority in the National Assembly independence until 2016. Seychelles opposition candidate Wavel Ramkalawan won in the 2020 Seychellois general election with 54.9 percent of valid votes cast, upsetting incumbent President Danny Faure of United Seychelles. The party lost its first presidential poll in over 40 years since Seychelles gained independence. United Seychellois lost also in the General Assembly elections and Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) held its clear majority in the parliament.[7]

After Vincent Meriton stepped down as party leader,[8] Patrick Herminie was elected as the new leader in 2021.[9] In October 2023, Herminie was charged by the Seychellois public prosecutor with witchcraft. He denied the charges and described them as politically motivated.[10] In February 2024, the witchcraft accusations were lifted by the Victoria public prosecutor's office.[11]

Electoral history

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Presidential elections

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Election Party candidate Votes % Votes % Result
First round Second round
1979 France-Albert René 26,390 98% Elected Green tickY
1984 32,883 92.6% Elected Green tickY
1989 37,703 96.1% Elected Green tickY
1993 25,627 59.5% Elected Green tickY
1998 31,048 66.7% Elected Green tickY
2001 27,223 54.2% Elected Green tickY
2006 James Michel 30,119 53.73% Elected Green tickY
2011 31,966 55.46% Elected Green tickY
2015 28,911 47.76% 31,512 50.15% Elected Green tickY
2020 Danny Faure 28,178 43.51% Lost Red XN

National Assembly elections

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Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Result
1967 France-Albert René 8,621 48.2%
3 / 8
Increase 3 Increase 2nd Opposition
1970 15,834 44.1%
5 / 15
Increase 2 Steady 2nd Opposition
1974 19,920 47.63%
2 / 15
Decrease 3 Steady 2nd Opposition
1979 98%
23 / 25
Increase 21 Increase 1st Sole legal party
1983 20,705 100%
23 / 25
Steady Steady 1st Sole legal party
1987 28,410 100%
23 / 25
Steady Steady 1st Sole legal party
1992 24,538 58.4%
14 / 22
Decrease 9 Steady 1st Majority government
1993 24,462 56.6%
27 / 33
Increase 13 Steady 1st Supermajority government
1998 28,610 61.7%
30 / 34
Increase 3 Steady 1st Supermajority government
2002 28,075 54.27%
23 / 34
Decrease 7 Steady 1st Supermajority government
2007 James Michel 30,571 56.76%
23 / 34
Steady Steady 1st Supermajority government
2011 31,123 88.56%
33 / 34
Increase 10 Steady 1st Supermajority government
2016 30,218 49.22%
14 / 33
Decrease 19 Decrease 2nd Minority government
2020 Vincent Meriton 27,185 42.35%
10 / 34
Decrease 4 Steady 2nd Opposition

Former logos

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Notable people

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Elections in Seychelles – African Elections Database
  2. ^ "Parti Lepep, seeking platform of unity, changes name to United Seychelles". www.seychellesnewsagency.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Seychelles Ruling Party Changes Name Ahead of 2020 Elections". 26 November 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  4. ^ "Carrying on the legacy of Nelson Mandela". eTurboNews. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  5. ^ Bonnelame, Betymie (5 June 2017). "Meriton is new leader of Seychelles' Parti Lepep". Seychelles News Agency.
  6. ^ "Presidential elections in Seychelles rescheduled for December 3rd to 5th". Seychelles News Agency. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Seychelles opposition candidate wins presidential election".
  8. ^ Athanase, Patsy (16 December 2020). "2 candidates vying to lead United Seychelles at next month's vote". www.seychellesnewsagency.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ^ Karapetyan, Salifa (1 February 2021). "United Seychelles' newly elected leader criticises government's new direction". www.seychellesnewsagency.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Seychelles opposition leader Patrick Herminie charged with witchcraft". BBC News. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  11. ^ "SEYCHELLES Abandon des charges contre l'opposant seychellois, accusé de "sorcellerie"". Voa Afrique (in French). 16 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
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