LDS views on protest and cohabitation |25 August 2017

The Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) recognises the right of any individual in this country to express his views freely, in a protest or by other means, as long as it is legal and peaceful. This is a right that members of LDS have struggled for years to achieve and therefore fully support today.

The protest in Victoria over the past few days has not been organised by LDS. It was started by one individual and has received the support of some members of Lalyans Seselwa, including Mr Patrick Pillay, its party leader.

As party leader of LDS, I believe I speak for the other members in saying that we recognise the right of Mr Pillay to express his views along with others. He has chosen to support an action started by one of his supporters and that is acceptable for us.

LDS believes that Seychelles needs an elected president and that there should be fresh presidential elections. Our reason for this is that Mr Danny Faure became president through means that were not democratic although it was according to the Constitution. But for the moment, we do not have the means to force Mr Faure to resign in order to precipitate immediate elections.

At this point, LDS is fully engaged in work to transform the country and establish a solid democratic foundation for our political system. This includes the setting up of solid institutions that will safeguard the rights of all the people of Seychelles and also ensure free and fair elections.

Recently, we saw the appointment of a new SBC board chairman and members, as well as a new CEO and deputy CEO. They now have to set policies that will ensure independent and unbiased coverage of political affairs and that there will be no tricks on the state media when election time comes. We have also started work on a new structure for the Electoral Commission and a revision of the electoral laws. The transformation of these institutions should be completed before we enter into new elections.

As party leader of LDS, I believe that we should continue to use the cohabitation to transform our system of government to ensure truth, transparency, accountability and good governance. This is our priority at the moment and it is good that it is being done with the cooperation of the Executive and the Legislature and with the involvement of the two major political parties. We are achieving this transformation and this is good for Seychelles and good for LDS.

Once we have completed this transformation, LDS will be ready for elections that will truly reflect the will of the people and ensure the best government for Seychelles.

There are many areas where we feel progress is too slow and that more could be done to solve the problems that we face. We will continue to use the means at our disposal to press for action while we aim for fresh elections.

Roger Mancienne

Party leader (LDS)

Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this release are those of the writer and his party and do not necessarily represent the views of the Seychelles NATION newspaper.