Six candidates to run for president

All six presidential candidates have been cleared by the Electoral Commission to run in the presidential election slated for December 3-5.

According to Electoral Commission chairman Hendrick Gappy, all six who returned nomination papers have met the required standards and will stay in the race to become the country’s next president.

The candidates were accompanied by their vice-presidential running mates and by their parties’ liaison officers to the meeting held yesterday morning at the Electoral Commission headquarters at the National Cultural Centre in Victoria.

President James Michel and his running mate, Vice-President Danny Faure, were the first to present their nomination papers.

Other candidates who presented their papers are the teams of Patrick Pillay and Ahmed Afif (Lalyans Seselwa), David Pierre and Herve Anthony (Popular Democratic Movement), Wavel Ramkalawan and Roger Mancienne (Seychelles National Party), Alexia Amesbury and Roy Fonseka (Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy), and Philippe Boulle and Peter Roselie (independent candidates).

Mr Gappy, accompanied by chief electoral officer Charles Morin and chief registration officer Lorna Lepathy, scrutinised the documents handed in by the candidates.

Each candidate had a list of well over the 500 supporters needed in case some turned out not to be registered voters, which would have nullified their candidature.

They also presented hard copies of their pictures and electronic copies for use when printing ballot papers.

They needed their running mates’ written consent of their designation as co-runners and authorisation from their organisations in the case of those being fielded by political parties. They also named their colours.

In the afternoon, representatives of the six candidates signed a code a conduct, received a certified copy of the voters’ register and a certificate.

Outgoing president James Michel said although the political landscape is different this time as many more opposition parties will be contesting the election, Parti Lepep remains strong and it will be a knockout win for them.

“I am confident in victory because I have worked tirelessly during the past 11 years as President of Seychelles. I am seeking a third and last mandate and I am confident in victory and it will be by an even bigger margin than in 2011,” said Mr Michel.

“Parti Lepep remains strong because we have the people of Seychelles at heart in whatever we do. I have also delivered all the promises made to the people of Seychelles. The reality is right in front of us for us all to see. We worked hard together and I am promising the people that we will continue to work together.

“The people want stability, unity, peace and to continue on the path of success unlike what some opposition parties want. The people do not want to tear down everything and start from scratch. We won’t need a second round, it will be a knockout win in the first round. I would also like to call on all voters to exercise their rights in peace and in all liberty and I would also like to take this occasion to express my desire to see an election process that is peaceful and that in the end all political parties come to accept the election results,” said President Michel.

Lalyans Seselwa candidate Patrick Pillay said he is 150% confident in victory, adding that “the time has come for a change”.

“I am 150% confident in victory. For many reasons we need a change of government and the people of Seychelles understand this very well... The Seychellois people no longer trust the current government. I believe we should bring about a new way of doing things to ensure that every Seychellois can see their place in Seychelles. We need a better public service,” said Mr Pillay.

For David Pierre, the leader of the Popular Democratic Movement, the country needs a new breath of life and he has added that his manifesto brings to light the problems Seychelles is facing and his proposed solutions.

“I am the youngest candidate in this election with more energy and I have the experience at both national and international level. So my message to the electorate is to choose a candidate they believe can bring Seychelles to the level that all Seychellois know we can possibly attain. I believe that this change when it happens there needs to be peace and stability. I am calling for respect for all the other candidates and for the Seychellois people,” said Mr Pierre.

Running for election for the fourth time, Seychelles National Party (SNP) leader Wavel Ramkalawan said at 54 years old he is still young with plenty of energy.

“We feel that things are deteriorating in the country and in politics the work is never done… We want to come forward with tangible ideas on how to pull the country out of its current situation. SNP is saying ‘The time is now’ and I believe the people of Seychelles are saying that after 38 years under the rule of a single political party it’s time for a change…. Eliminating drugs is one of our top priorities. I’m calling on all Seychellois to be calm as they decide on their future,” said Mr Ramkalawan.

Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy leader Alexia Amesbury is the first woman to take part in a presidential election in Seychelles and she believes it doesn’t matter if a woman or man wins the presidential election.

“The president must be a good and capable leader who will lead the country. I don’t have the political experience but I have other qualities a leader needs. My manifesto is about putting the Seychellois people first. My main resource is the people themselves and I am depending on them to bring about the change to have a credible government. I am very confident I will win because as I have said I am standing here not only as Alexia Amesbury the presidential candidate but am standing here to represent the more than 50 percent of women in Seychelles,” said Mrs Amesbury.

Lawyer Philippe Boullé is taking part in his fourth successive presidential election as an independent candidate and is once again proposing a government of national unity.

“All indications show that the people of Seychelles have reached the stage where they will be voting for a change and I have been encouraged to offer the people what I believe is the best for the country. I am coming back with the idea of a national unity government, the time has come now to implement this. We want to remove the current regime from power and when this happens there will be two steps. Firstly to do a clean-up of a lot of things that have been left behind. For example to clean up politics that has infiltrated state institutions. The second step is to rebuild the nation and as it has been recognised in many countries…the strongest tool for this is a national unity government where all political parties are involved in the process,” said Mr Boullé.

The accompanying photos show the candidates and their running mates during the nomination process yesterday.

Forrás: www.nation.sc