Vote counting got underway in the Seychelles late Saturday after a presidential election providing incumbent James Michel with his first serious challenge after two terms in office.
Balloting on more remote islands began on Thursday but the main vote took place Saturday on the main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, home to most of the archipelago's estimated 91,000 citizens.
Counting began in the late evening after a two-hour extension in voting due to the long queues still snaking out of polling stations by the scheduled close of 7:00 pm (1500 GMT), chief electoral officer Charles Morin told national radio.
Many voters had waited for the searing daytime temperatures to drop before going out to cast their ballots.
Turnout stood at 68 percent by early Saturday evening, Morin said.
Aside from a late start in several places, the vote passed smoothly on the largest island Mahe.
"I stood in line for nearly an hour before voting but once I got inside, it was very quick," said Jacqueline Hoarau, casting her ballot at Port Glaud on the northwestern coast.
The tourism-dependent Indian Ocean nation, a former British colony, is made up of 115 islands, some as far as 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the capital Victoria.
The Electoral Commission, which has said around 4,000 people were eligible to cast ballots on the first two days of voting, said it was "generally satisfied" with the voting process, according to the Seychelles News Agency.
Michel, of the Parti Lepep -- "The People" in the local Seychellois Creole language -- hopes to win a third and final term as permitted by the constitution, but was facing five challengers.
In power since 2006, Michel ran against a fragmented opposition, with observers saying a run-off vote is possible for the first time since the country returned to multi-party politics in 1993 following more than a decade of socialist rule under a one-party state.
- Tax haven -
A second round presidential vote would take place in one to two weeks, if required.
Analysts say Michel faces two real challengers: Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party, and Patrick Pillay of the Lalyans Seselwa (Seychellois Alliance), a former minister who defected from Michel's party.
Michel has pledged to boost the economy and eradicate poverty, while Pillay has vowed to combat corruption in the Seychelles, long seen as a tax haven for the world's super-rich.
Tourism and fisheries are the main pillars of the economy, with the main export being canned tuna destined mainly for Europe.
Election observers included teams from the African Union, the Commonwealth and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as domestic monitors.
While the opposition was divided for the first round, they have promised to unite behind a single candidate to challenge Michel if the vote goes to a run-off.
"In the past we had only one opposition party... maybe that one party could not do this on its own... but now we have many to do the work," said Alexia Amesbury, a 64-year-old Seychellois lawyer and the country's first-ever woman candidate.
Michel said he welcomed the challenge.
"The candidates are my political opponents and not enemies," he said.
Vote counting got underway in the Seychelles late Saturday after a presidential election providing incumbent James Michel with his first serious challenge after two terms in office.
Balloting on more remote islands began on Thursday but the main vote took place Saturday on the main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, home to most of the archipelago’s estimated 91,000 citizens.
Counting began in the late evening after a two-hour extension in voting due to the long queues still snaking out of polling stations by the scheduled close of 7:00 pm (1500 GMT), chief electoral officer Charles Morin told national radio.
Many voters had waited for the searing daytime temperatures to drop before going out to cast their ballots.
Turnout stood at 68 percent by early Saturday evening, Morin said.
Aside from a late start in several places, the vote passed smoothly on the largest island Mahe.
“I stood in line for nearly an hour before voting but once I got inside, it was very quick,” said Jacqueline Hoarau, casting her ballot at Port Glaud on the northwestern coast.
The tourism-dependent Indian Ocean nation, a former British colony, is made up of 115 islands, some as far as 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the capital Victoria.
The Electoral Commission, which has said around 4,000 people were eligible to cast ballots on the first two days of voting, said it was “generally satisfied” with the voting process, according to the Seychelles News Agency.
Michel, of the Parti Lepep — “The People” in the local Seychellois Creole language — hopes to win a third and final term as permitted by the constitution, but was facing five challengers.
In power since 2006, Michel ran against a fragmented opposition, with observers saying a run-off vote is possible for the first time since the country returned to multi-party politics in 1993 following more than a decade of socialist rule under a one-party state.
– Tax haven –
A second round presidential vote would take place in one to two weeks, if required.
Analysts say Michel faces two real challengers: Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party, and Patrick Pillay of the Lalyans Seselwa (Seychellois Alliance), a former minister who defected from Michel’s party.
Michel has pledged to boost the economy and eradicate poverty, while Pillay has vowed to combat corruption in the Seychelles, long seen as a tax haven for the world’s super-rich.
Tourism and fisheries are the main pillars of the economy, with the main export being canned tuna destined mainly for Europe.
Election observers included teams from the African Union, the Commonwealth and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as domestic monitors.
While the opposition was divided for the first round, they have promised to unite behind a single candidate to challenge Michel if the vote goes to a run-off.
“In the past we had only one opposition party… maybe that one party could not do this on its own… but now we have many to do the work,” said Alexia Amesbury, a 64-year-old Seychellois lawyer and the country’s first-ever woman candidate.
Michel said he welcomed the challenge.
“The candidates are my political opponents and not enemies,” he said.
