VICTORIA, Seychelles — The two main political parties, United Seychelles (US) and Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), have officially named their proportionally elected members for the eighth National Assembly, following last month’s general elections.
US named Sandy Arissol, Azarel Ernesta, Gervais Henrie, Johan Loze and Gerry Sopha as its proportional representatives. LDS named Valdana Sultan, Wilbert Herminie, Wavel Woodcock, Beryl Pillay and Lisette Cupidon. The selections follow the allocation of seats determined by the proportional share of the vote received by each party across the country’s 25 electoral districts.
Under the Constitution, the proportionally elected members complement the directly elected members, bringing the National Assembly to its full composition. The eighth National Assembly is expected to be convened in the coming weeks, at which point the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be elected.
With the addition of the proportional members, the full house now reflects the political balance of the September 25 vote, when US secured a majority of directly elected seats. The composition will be relevant to the second round of the presidential election, in which the LDS incumbent faces the US challenger for the presidency.
