Seychelles’s opposition leader, Patrick Herminie, has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election, defeating incumbent Wavel Ramkalawan in a run-off vote, according to the national electoral commission. Herminie secured 52.7% of the votes against Ramkalawan’s 47.3%, marking a significant political shift for the island nation.
In his victory speech, Herminie, 62, expressed gratitude to the electorate, pledging to lower the cost of living, improve public services, and promote national unity. He emphasized his commitment to being “the president of all Seychellois” and vowed to end divisions by ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens.
The win gives Herminie’s United Seychelles party full control of government after also regaining a parliamentary majority in the first round of the general election last month. The outcome represents a remarkable turnaround for Herminie, who faced and later had dropped witchcraft charges in 2023. A former speaker of parliament (2007–2016), Herminie also headed the country’s anti-drug agency and has promised to combat Seychelles’s severe heroin crisis.
Outgoing President Ramkalawan graciously conceded, congratulating Herminie and highlighting his administration’s achievements in steering the country through post-pandemic recovery. Images shared by local media showed the two leaders shaking hands at the results announcement, underscoring a peaceful transition of power.
Herminie’s campaign focused on anti-corruption, environmental protection, and social reform, including a pledge to cancel a controversial hotel project near a UNESCO-listed coral atoll and to reduce the retirement age from 65 to 63. He also vowed to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission addressing historical human rights abuses.
The election, held over several days, saw strong voter turnout as citizens weighed issues ranging from economic recovery to drug addiction in a country long celebrated as a tropical paradise.
With this victory, Patrick Herminie becomes Seychelles’s sixth president, leading Africa’s wealthiest nation per capita — an archipelago of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, strategically positioned for tourism, trade, and international cooperation.
