# Seychelles heads to presidential run-off after close first round
*Event date: 2025-09-29*
Seychelles will have to go back to the polls after the first round of its presidential election failed to produce a winner. The BBC report says opposition leader Patrick Herminie finished on 48.8%, narrowly ahead of incumbent president Wavel Ramkalawan on 46.4%, but neither crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a run-off.
The vote was closely fought, but the country is small enough that even a modest swing can decide the outcome. Seychelles is a 115-island archipelago with a population of just over 120,000, and there were eight presidential candidates in the race. Ramkalawan, who is seeking a second term, campaigned on economic recovery, social development and environmental sustainability. Herminie, from the United Seychelles party, is trying to return his movement to power after it lost control of parliament in 2020.
The legislative vote matters because United Seychelles regained the National Assembly, winning 19 of 35 seats. That result gives Herminie a stronger political platform going into the second round and shows that the former ruling party still retains deep support. Herminie said in a television address that his campaign was ready for another round and would begin campaigning again immediately.
The run-off will also be shaped by local concerns that go beyond personalities. The BBC report says sovereignty and environmental stewardship around Assumption Island emerged as a live issue during the campaign after the island was leased to a foreign hotel developer. That controversy matters in a country that depends heavily on tourism and has built its national identity around the protection of its natural environment.
The first-round result leaves Ramkalawan with work to do. He has to persuade the voters who backed the other six candidates that his record deserves another term. The BBC notes that Seychelles is Africa's wealthiest country in average income per person, which makes the politics of growth, tourism and preservation especially sensitive. The second round now becomes a contest not just between two candidates, but between two versions of how the islands should balance prosperity, sovereignty and conservation.
If no candidate reaches 50% in the second round, the political balance could hinge on support from voters who backed the six trailing contenders. That makes the run-off a test of coalition-building as much as personal popularity. It also keeps attention on whether the island state's tourism model can expand without deepening disputes over sovereignty and land use.
