‘LDS ready for both elections but considers that dissolution of the assembly puts politics above national interest’ |01 August 2020

The Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) has said it is ready to contest Presidential and National Assembly elections to give the people of Seychelles a clear choice of leadership, adding that the party stands ready to lead Seychelles into a new era of good government for the better future of our country.

“However, LDS considers that the decision of President Danny Faure to dissolve the National Assembly is ill-advised and puts politics above the country,” LDS said in a communiqué yesterday following President Faure’s announcement the previous evening that he intends to dissolve the National Assembly so as to allow for the Presidential and National Assembly elections to take place simultaneously.

“Article 110 of the Constitution makes clear that the President may dissolve the Assembly if he considers this to be in the national interest. In the present circumstances, it is our view that dissolution does not serve this intent,” the LDS communiqué added.

Noting that the Assembly still has more than a year left of its mandate, LDS believes that to dissolve it without a clear and compelling reason is to disregard the will of the electorate which established it for this term.

“It (the National Assembly) is functioning well as an institution and has a significant load of legislation which it has started to consider or which is on the legislative programme, including amendments to the Elections Act. The position is now uncertain. It is not clear if the Assembly will have time to complete business that it has started with or which was due to be laid before it,” the LDS communiqué noted.

“At a time when we are facing the crisis caused by Covid-19, it is a significant risk for the Assembly not to be functioning, because there may be a need for urgent legislation. The dissolution diminishes the capacity of our government to respond to a possible urgency.

“The President has justified the dissolution on the grounds of costs. This is not convincing. Holding the two elections together does not significantly reduce the costs. On the other hand, it increases the burden on this year’s budget at a time when there is a lot of financial pressure while part of it could have been spread out to next year when the economy might have started to recover and government finances better able to bear the costs.

“The decision is clearly in contradiction with the President’s declaration of his desire for National Unity. This was an opportunity for him to demonstrate this spirit with consultation and consideration of all the implications instead of a precipitate decision which does not meet the national interest,” concludes the LDS communiqué.

LDS communiqué