United Seychelles
People's Party Parti Lepep | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | James Michel |
| Founder | France-Albert René |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Newspaper | The People |
| Women's wing | Parti Lepep Women’s League |
| Ideology | Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National Assembly | 14 / 33 |
| Website | |
| www | |
 |
|---|
The People's Party (Seychellois Creole: Parti Lepep, PL) is a political party in Seychelles. It publishes a newspaper called The People. It was known as the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (French: Front Progressiste du Peuple Seychellois) until June 2009.[1]
The SPPF was founded in 1964 by France-Albert René,[2] under the name Seychelles People's United Party, and it has been led by him since its inception. The SPUP/SPPF has been the ruling party since 1977 and was the sole legal party in the country from 1979 to 1991 (this period is referred to retrospectively as the "Second Republic"). The SPPF is led by a Central Executive Committee.
Leading members of the party over the years have been René, James Michel (formerly the chief of staff of the armed forces, information minister, finance minister and vice president from 1996-2004; he was the President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016), Guy Sinon, Jacques Hodoul (a former foreign minister who was regarded as the party's chief ideologue), Joseph Belmont (the current Vice President of Seychelles), and Maxime Ferrari (a former René loyalist who later supported the opposition and wrote an autobiography).
During the era of one-party rule, the party was funded by dues paid by its members and from foreign governments including Tanzania, Algeria, Libya and East Germany.[citation needed]
The party maintains branches in each electoral district and utilizes an extensive system of patronage. At the parliamentary election in 2011, the party won 88.56% of the popular vote and all 31 seats in the National Assembly. That fell to 49.22% and 14 seats in the national assembly after the parliamentary election in 2016, leaving the party in parliamentary opposition for the first time. Since 1993, candidates from Parti Lepep won all the presidential elections in the first round.[3]
Election results
Presidential Elections
| Election date | Party candidate | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Second round | ||||
| 1979 | France-Albert René | 26,390 | 98% | ||
| 1984 | France-Albert René | 32,883 | 92.6% | ||
| 1989 | France-Albert René | 37,703 | 96.1% | ||
| 1993 | France-Albert René | 25,627 | 59.5% | ||
| 1998 | France-Albert René | 31,048 | 66.7% | ||
| 2001 | France-Albert René | 27,223 | 54.2% | ||
| 2006 | James Michel | 30,119 | 53.73% | ||
| 2011 | James Michel | 31,966 | 55.46% | ||
| 2015 | James Michel | 28,911 | 47.76% | 31,512 | 50.15% |
Parliamentary Elections
| Election date | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 8,621 | 48.2% |
3 / 8
|
| 1970 | 15,834 | 44.1% | 5 / 15
|
| 1974 | 19,920 | 47.63% | 2 / 15
|
| 1979 | Unknown | 98% | 23 / 25
|
| 1983 | 20,705 | 100% |
23 / 25
|
| 1987 | 28,410 | 100% |
23 / 25
|
| 1992 | 24,538 | 58.4% |
14 / 22
|
| 1993 | 24,462 | 56.6% |
27 / 33
|
| 1998 | 28,610 | 61.7% |
30 / 34
|
| 2002 | 28,075 | 54.27% | 23 / 34
|
| 2007 | 30,571 | 56.76% | 23 / 34
|
| 2011 | 31,123 | 88.56% | 31 / 31
|
| 2016 | 30,218 | 49.22% | 14 / 33
|
Notable people
References
- ^ Elections in Seychelles – African Elections Database
- ^ "Carrying on the legacy of Nelson Mandela". eTurboNews. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Presidential elections in Seychelles rescheduled for December 3rd to 5th". Seychelles News Agency. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
External links
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