Sawt Falasteen - Seychelles opposition leader wins presidential run-off

The Indian Ocean archipelago nation has the highest wealth per capita in Africa -- around $18,000 according to the World Bank -- but is vulnerable to climate change and plagued by widespread drug addiction.

Herminie pledged in his victory speech to lower the cost of living, revive public services, and unite the island nation.

"I will be the president of all Seychellois, and I will end divisions by ceasing preferences and giving everyone the opportunity to thrive," he said.

The vote headed to a run-off after Herminie and his main challenger, outgoing President Wavel Ramkalawan, failed last month to secure an outright majority of more than 50 percent.

Results released on Sunday showed Herminie secured 52.7 percent of the vote, while Ramkalawan garnered 47.3 percent.

The incumbent president, who led the opposition from 1998 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2020, congratulated Herminie, who becomes Seychelles’ sixth president.

"I leave with a legacy that makes many presidents blush... I hope President Herminie continues to maintain such a level," Ramkalawan said.

Herminie's party United Seychelles, which has largely dominated the country's political scene since its independence in 1976, won 15 out of 26 seats in last month's parliamentary elections.

In 2023, Herminie charged with "witchcraft", an accusation he said was a political attack, and the case was dropped a few months later.

A physician by training, he previously headed the government's anti-drug agency and has vowed to tackle sky-high heroin addiction, blamed in part on the fact the islands sit on a drug route between Africa and Asia.

The country's Agency for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation says 5,000 to 6,000 people use heroin out of a population of around 120,000. Other estimates put the figure as high as 10,000.

- Qatari 'interference' -

A bigger issue in the election has been the government's decision to lease a vast area of Assumption Island for 70 years for a Qatari-built luxury hotel with its own airstrip.

Assumption lies just 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage marine reserve, home to the world's largest tortoise and coconut crab populations.

Photos circulated on social media showing diggers on the beach and a tortoise with a broken shell, sparking outrage.

Herminie has vowed to cancel the 70-year lease and accused Qatar of financing the ruling party's campaign.

On Wednesday, he said he had written to Qatari authorities urging them to respect the archipelago's sovereignty, accusing Qatari companies of "interference" by funding the opposition's campaign with several million dollars to secure a tourism project.

A French and then British colony, the Seychelles gained independence in 1976.

The first multi-party election was held in 1993 after the adoption of a new constitution.

The archipelago is vulnerable to climate change and is facing rising sea levels, the deterioration of the marine ecosystem -- particularly its coral reefs -- as well as landslides, flooding and drought.

Three quarters of the country's roughly 120,000 citizens live on Mahe island, where the capital Victoria is located, according to 2024 World Bank data.

X.Habash--SF-PST