Seychelles is an archipelagic nation located in the Indian Ocean with a population of around 98,000 people. The economy of Seychelles is largely dependent on fishing, tourism and financial services, with its GDP per capita estimated at US$20,000 in 2017. In terms of foreign relations, Seychelles has strong ties to other countries in the region as well as other countries around the world. It is also a member of the United Nations, African Union (AU) and Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). In terms of politics, Seychelles has a presidential republic which includes two major parties: People’s Party (PP) and Seychelles National Party (SNP). The Parliament consists of 34 members who are elected by popular vote every five years. In 2017, Danny Faure was president and his PP party held majority in parliamentary elections. See militarynous for Seychelles military and defense.
Yearbook 2017
Seychelles. In March, the country’s first president, James R. Mancham, who became head of state in independence in 1976, died of violence the following year. The same month, the government approved a constitutional amendment that makes it mandatory for re-election if a sitting president dies, resigns or is dismissed from office. In such a situation, the vice president should temporarily take over as head of state until elections are held. According to Countryaah.com, the rule of re-election was introduced after it happened twice during the 2000s that the president resigned and surrendered power to his vice president. In 2004, France-Albert René resigned in favor of James Michel and in the fall of 2016, Michel handed over the post to Vice President Danny Faure. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for frequently used acronyms and abbreviations related to as well as country profile of Seychelles.
At the turn of the year, a law came into force prohibiting all imports of pick-up packages of frigolite and plastic products such as bags, plates, mugs and cutlery. However, until July 1, it was allowed to use up already purchased products. From this day on, it was forbidden to manufacture, distribute and use this type of product commercially. Instead, biodegradable alternatives should be used. However, no total plastic ban in the country was introduced. Exceptions are made, for example, for garbage bags, industrial packaging for frozen goods and for plastic products used in the agricultural sector.
History. – At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the Seychelles were in particularly complex economic conditions, with a balance of payments crisis and a high public debt; the difficulties were also exacerbated by the effects of the global crisis and by rising prices for food and fuel. After a default on foreign debt in 2008, the country embarked on a radical path of reform with the support of the International Monetary Fund, pledging to eliminate restrictions on the foreign exchange market, guaranteeing the free floating of the currency and adopting a more rigorous fiscal policy. The measures adopted, together with greater openness to private initiative and debt restructuring, produced an improvement in the economic situation of the Seychelles, which remained however vulnerable to external shocks.
From a political-electoral point of view, the dominance of the Seychelles people’s progressive front (SPPF) continued in the country, which won 23 of the 34 parliamentary seats in the legislative elections of May 2007, won the presidential elections in May 2011 – its leader James Michel was confirmed head of state with 55.5% of the vote – and won all but one seats in the consultations of the following September for the renewal of Parliament; elections boycotted by the main opposition party, the Seychelles national party (SNP), which called for electoral reform. In this context, some legislative interventions for greater transparency in voter registration and party financing were approved by Parliament at the end of 2014. Public order act) entered into force in January 2014, contesting its restrictive nature: in July 2015, some parts of the provision were declared unconstitutional.
On the international scene, due to their exposure to piracy in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles were very involved in combating this phenomenon, which put at risk important sectors of the economy such as the tuna industry and tourism: in this context, the country received support from partners such as the United States, the EU and India. The Seychelles also drew the attention of the international community to the problem of climate change, the consequences of which threatened the archipelago like many other small island states. In April 2015, Seychelles became the 161st member of the World Trade Organization.