This was announced yesterday by electoral commissioner Hendrick Gappy, who said the main polling day will be Saturday May 21, when voting will take place in all districts of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue.

The votes will be counted and results will be announced late in the night of that same day.

On the two previous days – May 19 and 20 – voting will take place on the outer islands and also on some inner islands.

Nomination Day has been set for April 27, which means the electoral campaign will last for 18 days.

Explaining the election dates, Mr Gappy said the Constitution stipulates that a presidential mandate is five years, or 60 months. It also says the electoral process should be set in motion within the four months before the mandate expires.
 
He added that the Electoral Supervisory Commission decided against April for the elections, since it is the month of fasting and Easter for Christians. And it ruled out June since there are several festive occasions then. May was found to be just right, and it falls within the timeframe provided by the Constitution.

Mr Gappy said his office will, from March 1, be receiving candidates who wish to take part and advising them of the paperwork involved. They will be received by the chief electoral officer for the elections, Charles Morin.

Among the main conditions are that a candidate has to be a registered voter, be endorsed by at least 500 other voters and submit a R15,000 deposit to show that he or she is serious as a candidate.

Meanwhile, chief registration officer Jenny Adrienne is finalising the electoral register.

She said there were some 2,000 requests for transfers by voters and 400 objections during the annual inspection exercise in January.