Government
Type: Multiple-party republic.
Independence: June 29, 1976.
Constitution: June 18, 1993.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state and head of government). Legislative--Unicameral National Assembly with 34 seats (25 directly elected and 9 allocated on a proportional basis). Judicial--Supreme Court, Appeals Court.
Political parties: Democratic Party (DP), Seychelles National Party (SNP), Seychelles People Progressive Front (SPPF).
Suffrage: Universal over 17.

Government of Seychelles
By 1963, political parties had developed in the Seychelles colony. Elections held that year were contested for the first time on party lines. The following year, two new parties, the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) led by James Mancham, and the Seychelles People's Unity Party (SPUP) led by France Albert Rene, replaced existing parties. In the November 1970 elections, the SDP won 10 seats, and the SPUP won five in the Legislative Assembly. Under the new constitution, Mancham became the chief minister of the colony.

During the April 1974 elections, the SDP increased its majority in the Legislative Assembly by three seats, gaining all but two of the 15 seats. Demarcation of constituencies was such that the SDP achieved this majority by winning only 52% of the popular vote.

The SDP and SPUP formed a coalition government in June 1975 to lead Seychelles to independence. The British Government was asked to appoint an electoral review commission so that divergent views on the electoral system and composition of the legislature could be reconciled. As a result, 10 seats were added to the Legislative Assembly, five to be nominated by each party. A cabinet of ministers also was formed consisting of eight members of the SDP and four of the SPUP, with Chief Minister Mancham becoming prime minister. With independence on June 29, 1976, Mancham assumed the office of president and Rene became prime minister.

Although the coalition appeared to operate smoothly, political divisions between the two parties continued. On June 5, 1977, during Mancham's absence at the London Commonwealth Conference, supporters of Prime Minister Rene overthrew Mancham in a smoothly executed coup and installed Rene as president. President Rene suspended the constitution and dismissed the Parliament. The country was ruled by decree until June 1979, when a new constitution was adopted.

In November 1981, a group of mercenaries attempted to overthrow the Rene government but failed when they were detected at the airport and repelled. The government was threatened again by an army mutiny in August 1982, but it was quelled after 2 days when loyal troops, reinforced by Tanzanian forces, recaptured rebel-held installations.

After almost 16 years of one-party rule, President Rene announced a return to the multiparty system of government at an Extraordinary Congress of the SPPF on December 4, 1991. On December 27, 1991, the Constitution of Seychelles was amended to allow for the registration of political parties. Among the exiles returning to Seychelles was James Mancham, who returned in April 1992 to revive his party, the Democratic Party (DP). By the end of that month, eight political parties had registered to contest the first stage of the transition process: election to the Constitutional Commission, which took place on July 23-26, 1992.

The Constitutional Commission was made up of 22 elected members, 14 from the SPPF and eight from the DP. It commenced work on August 27, 1992 with both President Rene and Mancham calling for national reconciliation and consensus on a new democratic Constitution. A consensus text was agreed upon on May 7, 1993, and a referendum to approve it called for June 15-18. The draft was approved with 73.9% of the electorate in favor of it and 24.1% against.

July 23-26, 1993 saw the first multiparty presidential and legislative elections held under the new constitution, as well as a resounding victory for President Rene. Three political groups contested the elections--the SPPF, the DP, and the United Opposition (UO)--a coalition of three smaller political parties, including Parti Seselwa. Two other smaller opposition parties threw in their lot with the DP. All participating parties and international observer groups accepted the results as "free and fair."

Three candidates again contested the 1998 presidential election--Albert Rene, SPPF; James Mancham, DP; and Rev. Wavel Ramkalawan and once again President Rene and his SPPF party enjoyed a landslide victory. The President's popularity in March 20-22 elections jumped to 66.6% from 59.5% in 1993, while the SPPF garnered 61.7% of the total votes cast in the National Assembly election, compared to 56.5% in 1993.

Early presidential elections originally set for 2003 were called in August/September 2001. The Government Party SPPF once again prevailed, although the main Opposition Party, Seychelles National Party (previously known as the United Opposition Party) headed by Rev. Wavel Ramkalawan, made a surprisingly strong showing and collected 46% of the total votes. The DP, headed by Mr. Mancham, did not take part in the elections. Legislative elections held in December of 2002 saw the SPPF retain a strong majority in the National Assembly, winning a total of 23 of the 34 seats. The SNP won the remaining 9.
source: http://www.state.gov