Presidential election 2015 – SNP candidate Wavel Ramkalawan’s request for a recount |22 December 2015

‘Any recount has to be by way of a petition before the Constitutional Court’

Any recount, question or review of the result of a presidential election or any election has to be by way of a petition before the Constitutional Court.

Electoral commission chairman Hendrick Gappy said this yesterday morning when addressing journalists at the commission’s headquarters at the National Library.

Also present were chief electoral officer Charles Morin and chief registration officer Lorna Lepathy.

Mr Gappy said the electoral commission has received two letters addressed from Seychelles National Party’s Wavel Ramkalawan, the party’s candidate in the second round of the presidential election held from December 16-18, 2015.

The first letter dated December 18, 2015 requested for a national recount of the votes, and the second dated December 20, 2015 informed the electoral commission that he (Mr Ramkalawan) was to file a petition before the Constitutional Court yesterday challenging the result of the election on the ground that James Michel of Parti Lepep did not receive more than 50% of the votes in the election.

The electoral commission chairman said “in line with the Elections Act, any recount, question or review of the result of a presidential election or any election, has to be by way of a petition before the Constitutional Court”.

He added that the “Elections Act prevents the electoral commission from handling the ballot papers, boxes and documents used in this election for a period of three months unless the court directs otherwise”.

“The electoral commission will be guided by the decision of the Constitutional Court,” noted Mr Gappy.