Some reactions to election results |27 October 2020

Now that the two elections – presidential and legislative – have come and gone and the process has in general taken place in a smooth, peaceful and calm atmosphere, Seychelles NATION has sought the reactions of some people who were willing to talk to us.

‘A change in government was bound to happen’ – Marcelle Pouponneau (carer)

“People were tired of the same government which has been there for over 40 years. I personally feel that there was a need to bring in fresh ideas and new ways of doing things.

“The results confirm this as people have expressed what they feel and I am very happy that the whole process has been done peacefully and the loser has conceded defeat very amicably which I believe is a show of great maturity and respect.

“Unfortunately there has been great disappointment for many, fear of what was to come for others but for me I am really happy all this is now behind us and I feel that this is the true liberation we have been waiting for. A liberation from our fear of expressing ourselves, a liberation from mental slavery for many people as well as a moment of joy for many families who for many years have suffered from the system to finally let go and look forward to better things to come.

“I wish that the new group of leaders will lead this country and not rule us, that they stay connected to the people who have chosen them and seek their views and do things according to the Constitution. I pray that we grow up as a nation and work hard for our future prosperity. I also pray that more opportunities will be created for our people to prosper and develop their skills.”  

‘I was not expecting the ruling party to suffer such a huge defeat’ – Flora Ben David (CEO Creole Institute)

“With all the hard work that has been carried out to improve people’s living standards in the communities, measures introduced to address the issue of poverty and mitigate the economic impact on the lives of the most vulnerable, I was expecting that people would have been more grateful, appreciative and commended the government for that and this would have been more evident through better results than that.

“I was also really expecting the ruling United Seychelles party to claim back some districts and improve on the 2016 score as well as maintain its strongholds but instead we have seen some of them toppling over to LDS.

“I also think that Mr Danny Faure has been surrounded by many people who no longer believed in his principles as well as by too many ungrateful people.

“Those people tasked to work in the community have also not done a good enough job and have left many people disappointed and frustrated.”

‘The results do not reflect all the hard work of the government’ – Erica Fanchette (linguist)

“I was expecting the LDS to make some gains but surely not a landslide win. I am shocked and puzzled because while we know that our country is currently going through severe economic downturn as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are also aware that before that our economy was thriving and people were ok. The government is doing its best to help its people overcome the difficulties and therefore I cannot explain why people have punished the ruling party so harshly as if everybody has forgotten where we come from.

“But I sincerely believe that the United Seychelles still has hope to revive as it still has over 28,000 true supporters.

“For me in general I also feel that many things are puzzling about this election. There has been a lot of things that I personally found not right happening at the polling station in my district relating to people who needed assistance to vote. I hope the observers picked these up.

“There was nobody to enforce social distancing and people were standing very close to each other even though they were wearing masks.

“The election results, besides taking so long for them to be announced, were fraught with mistakes and were not detailed enough compared to past elections which forces one to wonder about their credibility and up to now we still do not know how many spoiled ballots were there per district.”

‘Nobody was expecting this landslide’ – Jean-Claude Matombe (civil society activist)

“I believe the oppositionhas done even better than it was expecting and as for the ruling US party, its strength has started to wane since the 15 /10 defeat in the last election.

“Because as is always the case, people tended to turn to and support the winner which was the LDS when it won the majority in the last National Assembly election and many sympathisers tended to abandon the US then which in spite of all its effort could not improve its score.

“The TRNUC (Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission) revelations and the different ministers’ grilling in the Assembly who often their answers clearly showed the lack of good working coordination with government measures and structures, all did not play in favour of the ruling party.

“I believe the Covid-19 situation has helped to boost the government’s image to some extent but it was not enough. But still I would say the type of climate during which the election campaign took place created a lot of excitement but more uncertainty among the population and nobody was sure how the results would be but the final results were not what anyone was expecting.”

‘I see a bright future for the youth of Seychelles’ – Marcus (first time voter)

“I was filled with excitement to vote for the first time. I know that the country offers great opportunity for young people but I see how my parents struggle to pay their loans and their bills, how hard they work.

“I am still a student and it pains me to see the hardship they go through and now with the difficult economic situation our country is going through, our life is getting more difficult as the cost of living continues to rise.

“I hope this new leadership will make it among its priorities to bring in new measures to tackle the cost of living and bring it down so that we can have a better life and that they will create more opportunities for the young people of this country.”

‘I hope that with these results a new chapter will open for us’ – Linda (first time voter)

“The election results is an expression of what the peoplehave been yearning for for many years and as a student I have followed closely the history of my country and all that has taken place since our independence from Great Britain and I am aware of many things that have taken place in our country, the effort to improve the lives of our people, the great stride our country has made in its development… but I have voted for a new leadership and new direction for our beautiful country and I am really happy with the results.

“I hope that with these results a new chapter will open for us. With the past behind us, I am looking forward to more opportunities for the youth, a new way of doing things, new leadership, more development and much prosperity and good things for our country.”