SADC Electoral Team Satisfied With Seychelles Pre-Election Environment
VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) has expressed general satisfaction with the calm and peaceful political and security environment in Seychelles, which it deems conducive to holding democratic elections. The pre-election assessment goodwill mission, which arrived in Seychelles on July 1, concluded its work this week.
The SEAC delegation, led by Advocate Pansy Faith Tlakula from South Africa and Judge Ticheme Dlamini from Eswatini, engaged with various stakeholders including the Electoral Commission of Seychelles (ECS), the police, political parties, non-governmental organisations, faith-based groups, prospective independent candidates, and government officials. ‘Since our arrival on July 1, we have engaged many stakeholders and we are happy with the feedback that we received from them,’ Judge Dlamini said.
While generally pleased with the overall atmosphere, the SEAC team noted that some stakeholders expressed concerns about the timing of recent amendments to electoral legislation, which they felt were made too close to the election. Minister for Transport Antony Derjacques, representing the government, said the government is committed to facilitating a free and fair process. The mission’s final report will be submitted to the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
