SNP’s special convention - Ramkalawan presidential candidate, Mancienne running mate |03 November 2015

Wavel Ramkalawan is the Seychelles National Party’s (SNP) presidential candidate for next month’s presidential election and Roger Mancienne is his running mate.

This was announced during the party’s special convention on Sunday at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS) under the slogan ‘The Time Is Now’.

The party believes the country has reached a juncture where it needs a change in government.

The convention was attended by the party’s executive committee and members.

Speaking after accepting the nomination, Mr Ramkalawan said he has accepted it because he has engaged himself in the challenge to make his country better.

“This struggle, brothers and sisters, has no end. After we who are here are gone, there will be others who will continue bearing this torch so that new lights will light up the road for the new generation. Therefore what we have just done is to engage all of us, not only me, to see a prosperous Seychelles in both human and economic development,” Mr Ramkalawan told his supporters.

Elaborating on his party’s slogan ‘The Time Is Now’, Mr Ramkalawan said the time has come for all the people of Seychelles to have a new future and to have a situation where everybody lives a normal life.

“We in SNP are simply looking for a normal life, simply searching for opportunities for all Seychellois,” he said.

He also touched on various national issues like better pension and salaries for Seychellois workers, and better health care and education.

Mr Ramkalawan described his running mate, Mr Mancienne, as a mentor and close friend.

Mr Mancienne thanked Mr Ramkalawan for the trust invested in him and the executive committee for their encouragement.

“I am not a politician. But when the time is right to do something for one’s country, one must do it,” said Mr Mancienne.

He urged everyone to do whatever they can for the advancement of their country.

The secretary general of the party, Nicholas Prea, said in the beginning SNP proposed an alliance with other opposition parties where they suggested the presidential candidate comes from SNP and the running mate from another party, but the proposition was rejected by other parties.

But what they accepted is that if the election goes into a second round, all opposition parties will rally behind the candidate who comes out second.

Another executive member of the SNP, Bernard Georges, went down memory lane retracing all his party has done and accomplished during its existence.

He said Seychellois are aware of the importance of an opposition in the country. He said Mr Ramkalawan has got all it takes to work with all kinds of people.