Seychelles holds early voting amid drug crisis and environmental concerns ahead of elections

Early voting started Thursday across Seychelles as concerns over a drug crisis and environmental challenges weigh on voters ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections. President Wavel Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest turned politician who leads the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa, hopes to extend his time in office in Africa’s smallest country by both land area and population. Ballot papers were flown to the outer islands, and special polling stations opened for the elderly and essential workers for early voting, the election commission said. The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for Saturday. Ramkalawan’s campaign has centered on economic recovery, social development and environmental sustainability. His chief political rival is Patrick Herminie of the long-ruling United Seychelles Party, a veteran lawmaker who was speaker of the National Assembly from 2007 to 2016. The president is elected to a five-year term; if no candidate wins more than 50 percent, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.

Seychelles has grappled with a growing drug crisis. A 2017 United Nations report described the country as a major transit route for drugs, and the Global Organized Crime Index in 2023 cited one of the world’s highest heroin addiction rates. Independent analysts put the number of addicts at about 6,000 people in a population of roughly 120,000, with some estimates approaching 10 percent of the population affected. Most residents live on Mahé, where the capital Victoria lies. Critics say Ramkalawan has largely failed to curb the problem, while Herminie has also faced criticism for his role as head of the country’s drug-abuse agency in the past. Gerald Edwin Julie, a former program manager at the agency, said the position had been used as a political tool by Herminie, who he said had “no prior knowledge of drug addiction when appointed.”

The archipelago’s image as a luxury destination has helped Seychelles rank among Africa’s wealthiest countries by gross domestic product per capita, but the country’s affluence has fueled a growing middle class and rising tensions over governance and transparency. A week before voting, activists filed a constitutional challenge to the government over the long-term lease of Assomption Island — the country’s largest island — to a Qatari company for the development of a luxury hotel, a plan that includes refurbishing an airstrip to facilitate international flights. Environmental groups say the arrangement raises sovereignty concerns and call for greater oversight and transparency, noting the project’s proximity to Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO marine reserve. “The hotel development on Assomption has been clouded with controversy,” said Victoria Duthil, one of the petitioners who filed the case. “Recent images of an injured tortoise and dredging that have emerged have highlighted how urgent the situation is.” Dredging, the removal of sediment from water bodies, has been part of the project’s development plan. While Seychelles has strong development metrics and low perceived corruption in sub-Saharan Africa, memories of corruption during the 30-year presidency of France-Albert René, which ended in 2004, linger in political discourse.

As voters prepare for Saturday’s ballot, observers say the election will test the public’s appetite for change versus continuity and highlight ongoing concerns over drug use, environmental stewardship and the handling of contentious land deals. The election also comes as Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, continues to navigate climate-change vulnerabilities and the pressures of maintaining sovereignty while attracting foreign investment.