Reflection |18 June 2023

Seychelles Constitution …. 30 years later

Today, June 18, Seychelles celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of the Third Republic. This presents us with a great opportunity to cast an eye back over those years and reflect on how far it has delivered on its social contract and to what extent it has achieved its intended objectives.

It was on June 18, 1993 that Seychelles got its Constitution, thus establishing the country’s Third Republic, when the people voted through a referendum to amend the constitution for multi-party democracy. A total of 73.9% of the electorate supported the change.

On that day, ‘We the People’ chose to adopt a framework of a presidential republic which ensures probity, accountability, and the rule of law and power-sharing among the three arms of government ‒ the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Since then, Seychelles has come a long way in her democratic journey. In fact, we have been journeying together for 30 years along this path. We should therefore not take anything for granted.

Along the way, the government has taken some bold decisions to safeguard our democracy by introducing amendments to the Constitution. This is because some people believe the Constitution has not delivered, arguing that it is not reflective of citizens' lived realities. For others, the Constitution has been a great success, probably because all their expectations have been realised.

Over the past 30 years, a total of 10 amendments have been made to the Seychelles Constitution to help make it even better. On the other hand, some of the amendments have limitations and have been and are being challenged since they are seen to upset the balance of power set in the country’s supreme act of legislation.

One of the major achievements of the Constitution of the Third Republic is the success of the democratic experiment, meaning it has been able to establish a democratic system of governance with elections taking place regularly and are generally perceived as free and fair.

If we are to assess the performance of the Constitution, we all need to remind ourselves that its objectives were captured in the preamble.

In the preamble of our Constitution, the founders of the Third Republic recognise the need for national stability; reaffirm the rights of the individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and are proud that as descendants of different races we have learnt to live together as one nation and can serve as an example for a harmonious multi-racial society.

We, the people of Seychelles, the preamble reminds us, are grateful to Almighty God that we inhabit one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

We are mindful of the uniqueness and fragility of Seychelles, says another line in the preamble. The Seychellois people also take note of the national stability and political maturity they have attained despite the pressures of a sadly divided world.

The inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation for freedom, justice, welfare, fraternity, peace and unity, are recognised. It is reaffirmed that these rights include the rights of the individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness free from all types of discrimination.

The people of Seychelles, continues the preamble of our supreme law, solemnly declare our unswaying commitment to maintain Seychelles as an independent State, both politically and economically, and to safeguard our republic’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We uphold the rule of the law based on the recognition of the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and in respect for the equality and dignity of human beings.

We have the commitment to exercise our individual rights and freedoms with due regard to the rights and freedoms of others and the common interest.

We are also committed to help preserve a safe, healthy and functioning environment for ourselves and for posterity.

Looking forward to the next 30 years, Seychellois need to maintain and sustain the country’s democratic journey under our Constitution who has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world.

Gerard Govinden