Seychelles will hold a runoff presidential election after no candidate won an outright majority in the first round of voting, the country’s electoral commission announced on Sunday.
Opposition leader Patrick Herminie, of the United Seychelles (US) Party, emerged as the front-runner with 48.8% of the vote.
Incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan, of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party, followed closely with 46.4%. Neither candidate passed the 50% threshold required for a first-round victory.
The decisive second round is scheduled for October 9–11, 2025, and the winner will serve a five-year term as head of state.
The election also delivered a major shift in Seychelles’ National Assembly, where Herminie’s United Seychelles party captured 15 constituency seats and four proportional representation seats, securing a clear parliamentary majority.
Ramkalawan’s LDS won 11 constituency seats and four proportional seats, leaving the ruling party with fewer seats than its main challenger for the first time since taking office in 2020.
The electoral commission reported a record turnout of nearly 82% of registered voters during the first round, held from Thursday through Saturday.
President Ramkalawan had been seeking re-election to block the return of United Seychelles, the party that dominated the nation’s politics for more than four decades until his historic victory in 2020.
With United Seychelles now in control of parliament, a win for Herminie in the presidential runoff could mark a full political comeback for the party — potentially reshaping the country’s governance and economic priorities.
