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Seychelles Votes in Presidential, Legislative Elections


FILE - Seychelles President Danny Faure addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 25, 2019.
FILE - Seychelles President Danny Faure addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 25, 2019.

Voters in the Seychelles on Thursday begin the three-day process of choosing a president and lawmakers.

Voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago of 115 islands will decide if President Danny Faure will be elected for the first time after taking over from predecessor James Michel, who resigned.

Faure, of the ruling United Seychelles party, is running against two candidates.

Agence France-Presse reports Faure's main rival is perennial presidential candidate, Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan, who lost to Michel by just 193 votes in 2015.

Ramkalawan’s Seychelles Democratic Alliance party holds most of the seats in parliament.

The other candidate is Alain St Ange, a former tourism minister, who is representing the One Seychelles party.

One of the main challenges facing the country is rebooting the critical tourism industry affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

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