Category: Politics

The Seychelles National Assembly, the island nation’s legislative body, will celebrate its 30th anniversary in the Third Republic on July 31. This will coincide with the return to multi-party democracy in 1993.

SNA looks at the five Speakers of the National Assembly since 1993.

Francis MacGregor

MacGregor, 73 years old, who was a Seychellois judge and politician from the then Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) served as the first Speaker. He was appointed after the 1993 multiparty elections and was the Speaker of the National Assembly from 1993 to 2007.

Prior to being Speaker, he was elected as the chairman of the People’s Assembly after the 1987 elections.

McGregor, a lawyer by profession, also served as a judge in the judiciary of Seychelles. He was the president of the Seychelles Court of Appeal from 2007 to 2019.

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Patrick Herminie

Herminie, 60 years old, is a Seychellois politician who served as a Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles from 2007 to 2016.

He was first elected to the Assembly in 1993 and served as Leader of Government Business from 1998 to 2003. He was elected as Speaker on May 29, 2007.

Herminie, who is a medical doctor by profession, was elected leader of the United Seychelles political party in 2021.

(Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Patrick Pillay

Pillay is a Seychellois politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Seychelles from 2016 to 2018. He previously served as Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Health. In 2010, he was appointed resident High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

He formed his own political party ? Lalyans Seselwa ? and contested the presidential election in 2015, coming out third in the first round with a score of 14.19 percent ? a record for a first-timer.

Pillay stood in the September 2016 parliamentary election as a candidate of the opposition Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) coalition in Anse Boileau and was elected for a seat in the National Assembly. The LDS won a majority of seats, and Pillay was elected as Speaker of the National Assembly on 27 September 2016.

He resigned on January 29, 2018, from both the position of Speaker and member of the national assembly.

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Nicholas Prea

Prea, 58, was sworn in as the fourth speaker of the National Assembly in March 2018 after the resignation of Patrick Pillay. Prea who was the elected member for the district of Bel Ombre, was the speaker of the National Assembly until he resigned and stepped down on October 29, 2020.

An engineer by profession, Prea was secretary general of the Seychelles National Party until his resignation on 17 February 2020.

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Roger Mancienne

Roger Mancienne, 66 years old, is the current Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles. He was sworn in on October 28, 2020, after his party, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) won 20 out of 26 constituencies.

Mancienne was a founding member of the Parti Seselwa formed after the return of multi-party in 1993.

In 2015, he was the Vice-Presidential nominee for the Seychelles National Party alongside Wavel Ramkalawan as the Presidential candidate. The party narrowly lost this election but went on to further consolidate the opposition with the formation of Linyon Demokratik Seselwa, (LDS), with Mancienne as Party Leader. He was formerly chief editor of the Regar newspaper.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Dr Bernard Tutu-Boahene, a political marketing specialist, says the position of candidates on the ballot paper can influence delegates’ decisions in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) upcoming Special Electoral College Election.

He told the Ghana News Agency, following the NPP’s balloting on Wednesday, that indecisive voters were more inclined to vote for candidates toward the top of the ballot sheet.

In an interview, Dr Tutu-Boahene said delegates who are firm on which candidates they would vote for would not bother about the position of their preferred candidate but would be driven by the images on the ballot paper.

Given the number of candidates engaged, he stated that the Electoral Commission must ensure that the images on the voting paper are adequately separated to avoid mistakes that could result in ballots being rejected.

‘Sometimes it is what the brain picks that the eye looks for. If you have the voter’s mind fixed to a particular name or image, the arrangement or numbers don’t really matter.

‘But when the voter is not sure of whom to vote for, the images that the eye picks once the person opens the ballot is what the person will go for. Normally the eye level goes to the first three, the images at the top and if the person is not ok then he/she goes downwards,’ he explained.

Dr Tutu-Boahene said the decision of voters could also be influenced by the ability of the candidates to carve meaningful messages from their positions that would resonate and appeal to the delegates.

‘The position really may not matter but the slogan and the messages you put to the numbers…the marketing bit of the slogans gives you some kind of positioning advantage,’ he said.

Presidential aspirants of the NPP on Wednesday picked spots on the ballot sheets ahead of the Party’s Special Electoral College elections on August 26, this year.

The balloting, which took place at the party’s headquarters in Accra, is the first leg of the party’s internal election to select a presidential candidate for the 2024 general election.

At the end of the exercise, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central picked the number one spot, followed by Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, with Joe Ghartey picking the third spot.

Mr Kwadwo Poku, an Energy Expert picked fourth position; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, fifth, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, sixth, Francis Addai Nimoh, seventh; Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, eighth and Mr Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko, ninth.

Vice President Bawumia took the 10th position.

Since Wednesday’s balloting, the campaign staff of the various candidates have assigned favourable interpretations to their statements, implying that they are on the verge of victory.

The NPP has set August 26, 2023, for its Special Electoral College elections to trim the number of presidential aspirants from 10 to five ahead of its National Congress in November.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Poland and Seychelles will work to build stronger partnerships in the field of tourism, trade and culture and work closely in the education sector, said Miroslaw Gojdz, the newly accredited ambassador.

Gojdz presented his credentials to Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan on Tuesday at State House.

“There are many activities that we can improve, there is trade and tourism,” the ambassador told reporters.

He said that Poland is also looking for local partners for investments, especially in tourism investments, and will discuss with his partners how the links can e improved.

“We will organise a mission that will be a business mission, but not only a business mission but also with the local government to talk about some cultural action that can be taken,” he added.

Poland and Seychelles are looking into twinning cities as part of the cultural actions being taken.

The two countries established diplomatic relations on February 12, 1979.

Gojdz also met with the principal secretary of foreign affairs,, Vivianne Fock Tave, who noted that cooperation between the two countries has taken place through Poland’s membership of the European Union (EU).

The Polish ambassador conveyed his commitment to ensuring that the two countries continue to build on their cooperation and explore new avenues for further collaboration through a general cooperation agreement.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, on Thursday in Luanda accredited four new ambassadors during a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace.

The Angolan statesman received the credentials of the new ambassadors of Uruguay, Nester Navarro, Chile, Julio Fiol, Eswatini, Mlondi Dlamini and Australia, Tegan Brink, who will have non-resident status.

During the event, the diplomats held separate talks with the Angolan Head of State.

Meanhile, on Wednesday, President Lourenço also accredited the ambassadors of Uganda, Julius Katembeka, Vietnam, Duong Chue, and Senegal, Ndao Malik, as well as the ambassadors of Turkey, Ufuk Ekici, Cabo Verde, Júlio de Morais, and the United Arab Emirates, Salem Alshamsi, who will have resident status.

A letter of credence is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state.

The letters are addressed from one Head of State to another, asking them to give credence to the ambassador’s claim of speaking for their country.

The letters are presented personally by the ambassador-designate to the receiving head of state in a formal ceremony, marking the beginning of the ambassadorship.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, has called on Regional Governors to closely monitor the activities of media organs, Non-Governmental organizations, and political parties operating in Cameroon.

He made the call while opening the first bi-annual conference of Regional Governors which took place in Yaounde on July 17, 2023.

Minister Atanga Nji insisted on the need to rally citizens in the direction of promoting peace, living together, and fighting against hate speech and tribalism.

“Henceforth, administrative authorities will have to monitor some private media organs who organize a one-sided debate, intended to discredit government action, divide Cameroonians and break down social cohesion, promoting tribalism and hate speech,” he said.

Atanga Nji went further to send a strong message of warning to the media stating that; “Any Media practitioners who indulge in this dangerous and anti-republican activities must always bear in mind that man is the master of what he intends to say whereas man will always remain a slave to what has already been said. In simple terms, media practitioners must think twice before publishing or making public pronouncements,”.

“ Distinguish governors, I, therefore, urge you to make the best of this working session so as to continue to work towards the development of your administrative units as well as maintain public order, fight against all forms of organized crime, and closely monitor activities of political parties, associations, and NGOs,”. He continued.

Besides the 10 governors of the nation who attended the meeting, the Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguelle, and the secretary of State in the Ministry of Defense in charge of National Gendarmerie, Yves Galax Etouga.

There is already an organ that monitors the media-the National Communication Council. The outing of the Territorial Administration Minister shows that the government is active in stifling the press in Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The military chaplain of the Armed Forces of South Africa is looking to help Seychelles with improving the structure of the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) military chaplain service.

This was revealed by Reverend Brigadier General Ernest Masweu after a meeting with the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, accompanied by Colonel Malcolm Pillay at State House on Thursday.

“In South Africa, we see ourselves as good partners to Seychelles in this Ministry of Chaplains and we came here to re-enforce that relationship, to say to the SDF that we are still together,” Colonel Masweu told reporters.

Reverend Brigadier General Ernest Masweu is the pastoral and spiritual leader of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and he has continental experience, overseeing the Chaplain Service.

In addition to the four services, air force, army, military health and navy and SANDF divisions, military chaplains are also designated to handle human resources and ethics.

Masweu said that what they are looking into now, is to have a structure in place in Seychelles that the SDF can use when an additional chaplain is required and to also offer the necessary course and support in that area.

The SDF chaplain is Lieutenant Colonel Louis Agathine, since 1999.

“One of the things that we have picked up on is that Colonel Agathine has been here for a very long time and our issue is that the SDF is growing and so we need to look at the future and ask whether we will need an additional chaplain as that is where will are willing to help out,” Masweu added.

He also expressed his delight at meeting a president who is also a priest, stating that for him it was a very warm moment when he learned how the president brings the balance between the two.

The two members of the South Africa Military Chaplains will meet with other members of the SDF and will leave the country on Friday.

Source: Seychelles News Agency