Yearbook 2016
Seychelles. In April, a constitutional amendment was approved in a vote in Parliament. The current population of Seychelles is 98,358. The proposal, created on the initiative of President James Michel, was aimed at limiting the number of terms a President should be able to sit. From now on, the head of state can only be elected once.
According to thereligionfaqs, in September, parliamentary elections were held. Unlike in 2011, the opposition was running for election this time. It ended with a loss for the ruling party Parti Lepep, who had to settle for 14 of 33 seats. The other 19 seats went to the Seychelles Democratic Alliance (LDS) coalition, formed before the election of the largest opposition party, the Seychelles National Party, along with four smaller parties.
Later that month, President Michel announced his intention to leave office in October and would be replaced by Vice President Danny Faure. The SNP’s party leader, Wavel Ramkalawan, who lost extremely little to Michel in the 2015 presidential election, demanded that a new election for the presidential post be announced. However, Faure took office as head of state in mid-October.
Since May, homosexuality is no longer a crime in Seychelles. The National Assembly voted in favor of a proposal to decriminalize homosexual acts, which could previously be punished by up to 14 years in prison.