Politics of Seychelles
René installed a single-party socialist state under the Seychelles People's Progressive Front in 1979 which remained in power until 1993, when multiparty elections took place for the first time since independence, after restoring the multi-party system in 1991.
The League of Coloured Peoples formed as a result, and demanded minimum wage laws and health care reform.
1948 marked the first year in which Seychelles enjoyed any sort of suffrage, but it was limited only to literate property owners, which made up just 2,000 people in a population of over 36,000.
Another London-educated lawyer, James Mancham headed the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP), which was created the same year, and by contrast wanted closer integration with Britain.
Mancham's SDP retained a single-seat lead in the legislature, despite the SPUP having a slight margin of victory in number of votes.
[2] 1970 brought constitutional revisions to the colonial government of Seychelles, instituting a smaller-scale parliamentary system, but leaving plurality voting for the single-member districts.
While this was partially attributable to the issues faced with the voting system, tensions regarding independence and rumored political repression and jailing of SPUP activists was also a factor.
The British Government was asked to appoint an electoral review commission so that differences in opinion on legislative makeup and representation could be reconciled.
[2][3] Less than one year after independence, on 5 June 1977, the SPUP overthrew the newly formed government in a bloodless coup while Mancham was overseas at a Commonwealth conference in London.
This coup was claimed to have been to prevent the establishment of a one-party state, but likely was more motivated by the SPUP's lack of representation in the newly formed legislature.
During this period, the SPUP was formally renamed the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, and became the sole ruling party of the new single-party socialist state.
By the end of that month, eight political parties had registered to contest the first stage of the transition process: election to the Constitutional Commission, which took place on 23–26 July 1992.
It commenced work on 27 August 1992 with both President René and Mancham calling for national reconciliation and consensus on a new democratic constitution.
Three candidates again contested the 1998 presidential election: Albert René (SPPF), James Mancham (DP), and Wavel Ramkalawan.
[7] In the October 2020 general election, Wavel Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest, defeated Faure by 54.9% to 43.5%, and the opposition therefore took power for the first time since 1977.
