Seychelles flag Seychelles: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of the Seychelles

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Wavel RAMKALAWAN (since 26 October 2020)
Vice President: Ahmed AFIF (since 27 October 2020)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2025
National Assembly: October 2025
Main Political Parties
Seychelles has a multi-party political system, but the political landscape is dominated by two main political parties:

- Seychellois Democratic Alliance (LDS): centre, liberal political coalition. It is currently the leading coalition, holding 25 out of 35 seats
- United Seychelles (US): left-wing, democratic socialism. It currently has 10 seats in the National Assembly.

Other smaller parties in Seychelles include One Seychelles, Seychellois Alliance, Seychelles Patriotic Movement, Popular Democratic Movement, and New Democratic Party.

Executive Power
The President is elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years and is eligible for re-election for one more term. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and has the power to appoint judges and other senior government officials. He is also the head of government.
The Cabinet of Ministers is appointed by the President and is responsible for advising the President on policy and the day-to-day administration of the government. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the National Assembly and can be removed by a vote of no-confidence.
Legislative Power
In Seychelles, legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, which is the unicameral. The National Assembly consists of 35 members, 25 of whom are directly elected from constituencies across Seychelles, and nine are appointed by the President. Members of the National Assembly serve a five-year term. The National Assembly is responsible for making laws, overseeing government activities, and approving the national budget.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
52/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
2/7
Civil Liberties:
45 out of 60 (free)

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

Return to top

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.

 

© eexpand, All Rights Reserved.
Latest Update: May 2024