Voters in Seychelles worry about a drug crisis, environmental challenges and sovereignty issues
Voters in Seychelles worry about a drug crisis, environmental challenges and sovereignty issues
VICTORIA, Seychelles (AP) — A drug crisis, environmental challenges and questions about sovereignty are among key issues for voters heading to the polls in Seychelles, a tourist haven and Africa’s smallest nation, both in land area and population, but richest by domestic income.
Between September 25 and 27, voters will choose a president, with Wavel Ramkalawan hoping to hold on to the top post, and a new parliament.
The primary contenders
Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest who turned politician, became the first opposition leader since 1976 to defeat the ruling party when he made his sixth bid for the presidency in 2020. He and his Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party have campaigned on ongoing efforts of economic recovery, social development, and environmental sustainability.
His chief political rival is Patrick Herminie of the United Seychelles Party (US). Herminie is a veteran parliamentarian from the longstanding ruling party and Speaker of the National Assembly from 2007 to 2016.
The president is elected for a five-year term. If no contender gets 50% + 1 vote, a runoff follows between the two top winners of the first round.
A drug crisis
Seychelles, which a 2017 United Nations report called a major drug transshipment point, has struggled with a growing crisis from narcotics trafficking in recent years. The Global Organized Crime Index stated in 2023 that the island nation has one of the world’s highest rates of heroin addiction.
APDAR estimates that 6,000 people out of the country’s 120,000 population use the drug, while independent analysts say addiction rates approach 10%.
Critics say Ramkalawan has largely failed in his bid to stop the spread of addiction, while Herminie’s record as chairman of the Agency for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (APDAR), from 2017 until 2020, has come under particular scrutiny following the drug pandemic that has gripped the country for the last 27 years, and addiction rates that have remained unchanged during his tenure.
“APDAR was simply a political tool. (Herminie) had no prior knowledge of drug addiction when appointed,” said Gerald Edwin Julie, former program manager at the agency.
Environmental challenges and concerns about sovereignty
The 115-island archipelago, spread in the Indian Ocean roughly between East Africa, India, and Madagascar, has become synonymous with luxury and environmental travel, helping bump Seychelles to the top of the list of Africa’s richest countries by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, according to the World Bank Group, and fueling a growing middle class despite some persistent issues with poverty.
However, a week before the highly anticipated elections, activists filed a constitutional case against the current government, challenging its recent decision to the long-term lease part of Assomption Island, which lies about 28 kilometers (17 miles) from Aldabara Atoll, a marine reserve and a UNESCO heritage site, to a Qatari company for the development of a luxury hotel.
The lease, which includes the reconstruction of an airstrip to facilitate access for international flights, has ignited widespread criticism that the agreement may favor foreign interests over Seychelles’ long-term welfare and sovereignty over its land, as environmental groups demanded increased oversight and called for greater transparency.
Most of the population lives on the island of Mahe, home to the capital, Victoria, but its territory is spread across almost 390,000 square kilometers (about 150,579 square miles) and is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, including rising sea levels, according to the World Bank and the UN Sustainable Development Group.
“The hotel development on Assomption has (been) clouded with controversy,” said Victoria Duthil, a local and scientist who filed the case against the government. “Recent images of an injured tortoise and dredging that have emerged have highlighted how urgent the situation is.”
Worries about corruption
While Seychelles leads Africa in development metrics and has the lowest ranking in Sub-Saharan Africa in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, the country’s history with rampant corruption during the three-decade presidency of France-Albert Rene, which ended in 2004, remains fresh in the minds of residents.
Tensions around transparency have reemerged during the current election campaign, with a presidential candidate, Kisna Louise, under scrutiny amid a legal investigation, while another, Maarco Francis, faces allegations of a forged university degree.
“Most (politicians) have a past of helping their friends and family,” said Jean Paul Morel, a local businessman. “There are no good candidates.”
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Associated Press writer Jack Denton in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
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By Emilie Chetty
Associated Press
