President Faure receives election observers |23 October 2020

Mr Wassihun during his call on President Faure yesterday (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

President Danny Faure received the head of mission of the Eastern Africa Standby Force election observer team, Dawit Assefa Wassihun yesterday morning at State House.

The purpose of the meeting was to inform the incumbent president about the role of the independent observers during the general elections which began yesterday.

Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) communication manager Jules Hoareau was also present at the meeting.

President Faure expressed the sincere appreciation of the government of Seychelles to the EASF for their presence in the country during this important period and said that as a credible international organisation they serve to create public trust in the democratic process.

“We had a chance to speak with leaders and several other people involved in the elections and we are happy that people are moving freely and are prepared for the elections. We also saw through the two debates that all three candidates have a mutual respect for each other which is a very important part of elections,” said Mr Wassihun.

The head observer added that through meetings with the Electoral Commission of Seychelles they are confident that the election process will go peacefully and freely.

Some of the key points that the observers will look at during the elections will be the process of the elections and the secrecy that voters are given.

“On Sunday after the election we will give a preliminary report on everything we have observed from the past three days,” said Mr Wassihun.

In total there are eight observers who will cover all the polling stations.

Mr Wassihun ended by calling on all eligible voters to practice their constitutional rights as citizens and elect their leaders.

The observers of the EASF election observer mission arrived in the country on October 9 and were released from quarantine yesterday morning in time to observe the first day of the special voting in designated polling stations.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are taking place over three days from October 22-24, 2020.

Christophe Zialor