The race to State House begins |17 September 2020
By Elsie Pointe/Vidya Gappy
Three presidential nominees have been given the go-ahead to run in the upcoming election while a fourth presidential hopeful, Patrick Pillay, has seen his bid rejected by the Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission yesterday evening at its headquarters at Orion Mall, presented three confirmed candidates with their certificates and nomination pack after determining they qualified to stand in the presidential election.
These were incumbent president Danny Antoine Rollen Faure of United Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan representing Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) and One Seychelles’ Alain St Ange.
They were accompanied to the confirmation ceremony yesterday evening by their running mates ‒ Maurice Loustau-Lalanne (US), Ahmed Afif (LDS) and Peter Sinon (One Seychelles).
However, the Electoral Commission did not approve that of Mr Pillay, leader of Lalyans Seselwa, who had presented his nomination papers at the last minute yesterday morning.
Chief electoral officer, Manuella Amesbury, explained that Mr Pillay’s nomination was rejected due to the fact that he did not meet the necessary legal requirements.
“At this moment, the commission will not go into further details on this but it will be releasing a statement,” added Mrs Amesbury.
Lots were also drawn yesterday evening to select the order in which the confirmed candidates will appear on the ballot paper and present their party political broadcasts (PPBs).
Mr Ramkalawan will appear first on the ballot paper followed by Mr Faure and Mr St Ange.
As for the PPBs, the opening broadcasts will feature One Seychelles, LDS and US in that order.
The subsequent presidential PPBs and the closing broadcasts will follow the order of US, LDS, and One Seychelles.
Following the ceremony the three presidential candidates provided their reactions in the same sequence they appear on the ballot paper.
Mr Ramkalawan said: “I would once again remind our supporters that votes will be cast on election day and people will be able to express themselves then. If someone has diverging opinions, that is in his rights so do not insult and disrespect others but rather respect them.”
“We will have a presidential debate and this is when we all be able to present our ideas. Seychellois should listen well in order to make up their minds for Seychelles.”
On his part Mr Faure stated: “It is very important that election campaigning is conducted in peace, stability and that all of the leaders and activists respect each other. I respect all candidates who are running. Respect should be demonstrated in everything we do, not just through our words but actions; respect is also crucial on social media […]. We can be a model to the world the way we conduct this presidential election.”
Mr St Ange, the One Seychelles candidate, said: “It is important for Seychelles to recognise and appreciate all of its children. In the crossroads we find ourselves, we must look at the direction Seychelles is heading towards and only the Seychellois people will be able to make this choice in the ballot box. Seychellois should make their choice based on the programmes brought by the political parties.”
The ceremony was punctuated by two groups of enthusiastic crowds, supporting their US and LDS candidates, that were aligned on opposing sides of Palm Street in front of the Sacos Tower.”
“We were expecting to see some supporters but we did not anticipate that many would turn out. I would like to remind people that we are faced with Covid-19 and we need to put emphasis on a safe election,” said Mrs Amesbury in her reaction to the crowds.
Mrs Amesbury noted that the nomination day for the presidential election, the first for the new EC, was a very hectic day for the EC officers but noted that she was proud of her team.
Seychelles NATION tried to contact Mr Pillay, but he could not be reached. Reacting to his disqualification on the national broadcaster, Mr Pillay said that he brought all of the necessary documents to the EC yesterday morning.
“I and my running mate, Mr Weston Wirtz, reached the EC at five to one, after we were caught in traffic, with all of our documents. We gave everything that were requested; two passport photos each, there were forms I had forgotten to put Lalyans Seselwa and my name on but they gave me back to fill. They gave me the documents to sign, told me everything was fine and I could leave.”
“Later, they called me and said that there have been objections. I went back personally and they told me there is a name on my list that is not on the voter registry but I had collected 504 signatures. The other objection was that there are only 489 signatures rather than 500, but I stressed that I had brought 504 signatures which were verified by me, my lawyer Daniel Cesar and his wife at our office in Majoie. Now, what happened to the other 11 signatures and the documents, I would not know because I had placed them in their hands.”
“It would have been better if we had a representative when they were counting,” added Mr Pillay.
Seychelles NATION also learned that the political parties had one hour, from 1pm to 2pm, to verify all of the documents presented by all of the prospective candidates but only two parties showed up, One Seychelles and LDS. The objections were brought by one of the two parties and upon verification by the Electoral Commission they were found to be valid.
As for the nomination procedures earlier during the day, the first candidate to present his papers was incumbent President Danny Faure, the United Seychelles party’s candidate. He walked from State House to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission at the Sacos Tower. Accompanied by his running mate Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, and the president of United Seychelles Vincent Meriton, Mr Faure was cheered on along the way by his supporters.
After submitting his documents, Mr Faure addressed members of the media and noted that the 2020 election is one of the most important in the history of Seychelles as it is happening in a period where the country is faced with extreme economic and social difficulties caused mainly by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have always been simple and for the first time I am standing as a candidate. I wanted to do this walk this morning and this will stay memorable,” he said.
He also urged that we respect the guidance of the health authorities throughout this official campaign period which started yesterday evening.
“We are in an abnormal situation and I call on everyone to engage in this process as this election is not only about who wins and who loses. This election will have major impact on the future of our children and of our country. I am ready to serve the people of Seychelles once more,” he said.
The second candidate to present his papers was Wavel Ramkalawan, candidate for Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS). He was accompanied by his running mate, Ahmed Afif, and party leader Roger Mancienne. This is the sixth time that Mr Ramkalawan runs for the Presidency following the country’s return to multi-party politics in 1993.
In his interaction with the press, Mr Ramkalawan noted that “this election is not about receiving votes only. For LDS this is an important election, a mission and a vocation. We want the people of Seychelles to reflect deeply on what they are going to do and think about the challenges that the country is going through. Seychellois need to make a good decision on Election Day and it is a question on how to work for our economy to survive and how to address the drug problems in the country. We will also look at how to support our local businessmen"
He said that during his 30-year political career he has never abandoned the fight.
“Since the first day, I have been fighting to achieve a lot of the things that have come to pass. I have always believed in Seychelles and this is why I have never stopped. Challenges brought by Covid-19 are here but I am confident with our programme we will succeed. The decision stays in the hands of the electorate,” concluded Mr Ramkalawan.
Alain St Ange from One Seychelles was the third one to submit his documents. He is participating in a presidential election for the first time. He was accompanied by his running mate Peter Sinon.
“Today is an important day for One Seychelles as we nominate ourselves as a contender for this presidential election. On Friday (tomorrow) we will also be present for the nomination of candidates for the legislative election. We intend to keep on playing our fair part in the political life of Seychelles to ensure that Seychelles flourishes. Without democracy there can be no country. Seychelles needs to see the change that people want and the choice is very clear and everyone should question themselves about the choice they made in the past. I am confident that the election will go into a second round and One Seychelles will see with whom they will make a coalition. An election is not a game. An election is when you put yourself forward for the people to choose. This is why One Seychelles today has put itself forward to contest the upcoming elections,” noted Mr St Ange.
The fourth candidate, Patrick Pillay from Lalyans Seselwa, whose nomination was eventually rejected, made it to the EC office at 12.55pm, just five minutes before the closing of the exercise. He was accompanied by his running mate Weston Wirtz.
Asked why he decided to come at the last minute, Mr Pillay noted that he wanted to keep the suspense till the end of the exercise.
“I am a person who likes suspense. Our reason for being late was that we were still trying to gather the required 500 signatories “as people expect to be paid money to endorse my nomination. The election 2020 is unpredictable and when you are going to vote, choose somebody who has Seychelles at heart.”
Supporters of both the US and LDS had gathered on the premises to cheer for their candidates.
Nomination documents for a presidential candidate are nomination form, a certificate from the Electoral Commission certifying that the candidates have deposited the sum of R15,000 as a deposit as well as a list of 500 supporters who are registered voters with copies of their ID cards among other documents.
Tomorrow, September 18, will be the turn of the National Assembly candidates to present their nomination papers.
The presidential election, as well as that for the National Assembly, will be held simultaneously from October 22-24, 2020.
As soon as the nomination day formalities were over yesterday, billboards started sprouting up at various strategic locations. Our photographer Louis Toussaint managed to capture one for the US and one for LDS. One Seychelles has said that it will start putting its billboard over the weekend.
