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Seychelles Return to a Multiparty System
Several factors contributed to the shift away from
singleparty rule. Political changes in the former Soviet Union
and
Eastern Europe, and a movement toward multiparty systems
in
Africa, left Seychelles conspicuously out of step with
trends in
the rest of the world. Britain and France trimmed their
foreign
aid programs, tying future aid to progress on the
political
front. Exiled Seychelles political figures were active in
drawing
attention to the autocratic features of the Seychelles
system
(see Opposition Movements and Interest Groups
, this ch.).
In
addition, domestic opposition to domination by the SPPF
had
become increasingly open by 1991. The Roman Catholic
Church, the
business community, and even a few figures in the SPPF had
begun
to express dissatisfaction. Embryonic local government had
been
introduced by combining the role of local party branch
leaders
and district councillors, but this step failed to satisfy
sentiment for a more open and democratic system.
On December 3, 1991, at a special congress of the SPPF,
President René announced that, beginning in January 1992,
political groupings of at least 100 members would be
permitted to
register and that multiparty elections for a commission to
participate in drafting a new constitution would be held
six
months later. In April 1992, former president James
Mancham
returned from Britain to lead the New Democratic Party
(NDP),
which tended to represent the commercial and wealthy in
the
election campaign. Six additional parties were also
registered.
In the voting for the constitutional commission, the SPPF
gained
58.4 percent of the votes and the NDP, 33.7 percent. None
of the
other parties gained enough to be represented, although
the most
successful of these, the Seychellois Party (Parti Seselwa)
led by
Wavel Ramkalanan and calling for restoring free
enterprise, was
granted one seat on the commission. As a prelude to the
constitutional conference, in September 1992 the
government ended
the eleven-year state of emergency declared after the 1981
attempted mercenary coup.
During the subsequent constitutional conference, the
NDP
delegation withdrew, objecting to closed sessions and
claiming
that the SPPF was forcing through an undemocratic document
that
reinforced the wide powers of the current president. The
SPPF
members, who constituted a quorum, continued the
commission's
work, and the draft constitution was submitted for popular
referendum in November 1992.
The vote in favor of the new constitution was 53.7
percent,
well short of the 60 percent needed for acceptance. The
NDP
campaigned for rejection of the draft, claiming that it
would
perpetuate domination by the president. The draft
stipulated that
half of the assembly seats would be allocated by
proportional
representation based on the presidential election results,
thus
guaranteeing the president a majority. The Roman Catholic
Church
also objected to the legalization of abortion called for
in the
document.
In January 1993, the constitutional commission
reconvened to
resume negotiations on a new draft constitution. The
proceedings
were conducted more openly, live television coverage was
permitted, and interest groups could submit proposals. The
new
constitution, which had the support of both the SPPF and
the NDP,
was approved by 73.9 percent of the voters in a second
referendum
held on June 18, 1993. The text emphasized human rights
and the
separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
The
presidency was again limited to three terms of five years
each.
The constitution provided for a leader of the opposition
to be
elected by the National Assembly. The assembly consisted
of
thirty-three members, twenty-two of them elected, and
eleven
designated by proportional representation.
In the first election under the new constitution, held
on
July 23, 1993, René was again elected president with 60
percent
of the vote. Mancham of the NDP received 37 percent, and
Philippe
Boullé of the United Opposition Party, a coalition of the
smaller
parties, received 3 percent. Of the elective seats for the
National Assembly, SPPF candidates won twenty-one and the
NDP,
one. Of the total thirty-three seats in the assembly,
twentyseven went to the SPPF, five to the NDP, and one to the
United
Opposition Party.
Although Seychelles security forces intimidated some
antiSPPF candidates in 1992, no coercion was reported during
the 1993
voting. Fears of loss of jobs and benefits are believed to
have
played a part in the SPPF victory, however.
Data as of August 1994
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