VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Office of the Ombudsman and the Seychelles Human Rights Commission (SHRC) have announced a joint review of the Political Parties (Registration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes to allow political parties to receive contributions, donations or assistance for training, capacity-building and human-capacity improvement. In a joint press release issued yesterday, the two bodies set out the key issues under examination, which had already been conveyed to all members of the National Assembly.
The Ombudsman and the SHRC noted that, while the bill’s stated focus is on party training, it does permit contributions from foreign entities to individual parties, raising significant constitutional questions about the extent to which those who are themselves subject to electoral-financing rules can initiate changes to those rules. The release also queries the constitutional role of the Electoral Commission in scrutinising amendments that directly affect electoral integrity.
The two bodies stressed that their involvement in the legislative process is grounded in international standards on National Human Rights Institutions and on the role of ombuds institutions, citing the Paris Principles, the Venice Principles and the Belgrade Principles. They said they are ‘committed to upholding, for the benefit of the people of Seychelles’ the duty of scrutinising legislation against constitutional and international standards, and pledged to publish their findings once the review is complete.
