Seychelles National Party

Seychelles National Party
Leader	Wavel Ramkalawan
Secretary-General	Nicholas Prea
Founder	Gérard Hoarau
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Victoria, Seychelles
Newspaper	Regar
Ideology	Liberalism
Political position	Centre[1]
International affiliation	Africa Liberal Network
Colours	Green
National Assembly	19 / 32
Website
www.snpseychelles.sc
Politics of Seychelles Political parties Elections

Seychelles
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Seychelles
Constitution
Cabinet President Danny Faure Vice-President Vincent Mériton
Legislature National Assembly Speaker: Patrick Pillay
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice: Mathilda Twomey
Elections Political parties Recent elections Presidential: 2006 2011 2015 Parliamentary: 2007 2011 2016
Administrative divisions Districts Outer Islands
Foreign relations Minister for Foreign Affairs Diplomatic missions of Seychelles to Seychelles Passport Visa requirements
Other countries Atlas

The Seychelles National Party (SNP) is a liberal political party in Seychelles. Its followers emphasize active multiparty democracy, respect for human rights and liberal economic reforms. It was founded in response to what it called the "totalitarian regime" of former President France-Albert René. It publishes a newsletter called Regar, which is frequently sued for libel by government officials. On Regar's front page of every issue is a quote from the constitution of Seychelles invoking their right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

The SNP was formed by the merger of three separate opposition parties in 1994: the Seychelles National Movement, led by Gérard Hoarau; the National Alliance Party, led by Philippe Boullé (an independent presidential candidate in the 2001 presidential election); and Parti Seselwa, led by Wavel Ramkalawan.

Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest, is the SNP's current leader. He won 44.9% of the vote in the 2001 presidential election, behind René (54.2%) and ahead of Boullé (0.9%). At parliamentary elections in December 2002, the SNP won 42.6% of the vote and 11 seats out of 34. Seven members were directly elected and four were chosen by proportional representation.

The July/August 2006 presidential elections gave James Michel of the SPPF 54% of the votes and Wavel Ramkalawan 46% of the votes. The last Presidential elections held in December 2015 saw SNP achieving only 35% of the popular votes in the first round. It joined with other smaller political parties under the banner of Union for Change to contest the second round of the Presidential Elections. The Union achieved 49.85% of the popular votes leaving the incumbent President James Michel to claim a slim victory.

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• Liberalism worldwide
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy

References

External links

• Seychelles National Party official site
• Regar SNP supporting newspaper (currently free)