thumb|[[James Mancham, founder of the SDP and former President of Seychelles. Mancham's party maintained power until 1977, when he was deposed in a coup run by supporters of René.]]
thumb|France-Albert René, founder of the SPUP and former President of Seychelles. René seized power in 1977 and retained it until 2004, when he retired from office.
The politics of Seychelles have historical roots in both one-party socialism and autocratic rule. Following independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, Seychelles was a sovereign republic until 1977, when the original President and leader of the Seychelles Democratic Party, James Mancham, was overthrown in a bloodless coup by the Prime Minister France-Albert René. René installed a single-party socialist state under the Seychelles People's Progressive Front in 1979 which remained in power until 1993, when multiparty elections took place for the first time since independence, after restoring the multi-party system in 1991. Modern day Seychelles governance takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Seychelles is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
Political history
Pre-independence political movements
While under British colonization, the people of the Seychelles had little to no say in how they were governed. Following the end of World War I, however, this began to change. The first political movement in the Seychelles was the Planters Association, which came into existence around 1918. In addition to the movement of the Planters Association, workers in the Seychelles petitioned the government about their poor working conditions and tax structure, which led to some proposed reform by the governor at the time, Governor Sir Arthur Grimble. Ultimately though, these reforms did not go into action, as the beginning of World War II put everything on hold.
The Planters Association was primarily focused on the interests of rich, white landowners and not the workers whom they employed. The League of Coloured Peoples formed as a result, and demanded minimum wage laws and health care reform.
The first actual political party, the Taxpayers Association, was not formed until 1939. This Taxpayers Association was also an organization primarily made up of rich white landowners, so its goals were, again, purely the advancement of their personal interests and the interests of the plantocracy.
1948 marked the first year in which Seychelles enjoyed any sort of suffrage, but it was limited only to literate property owners, which made up just 2,000 people in a population of over 36,000. As a result of the first elections in 1948, most representatives on the new Legislative Council were members of either the Planters' or Taxpayers' organizations.
As a result of the 1967 elections, the first elections under universal adult suffrage, each party gained three seats in the legislature. Mancham's SDP retained a single-seat lead in the legislature, despite the SPUP having a slight margin of victory in number of votes. This result was met with protests and strikes by supporters of the SPUP throughout the following year.
Less than one year after independence, on 5 June 1977, the SPUP overthrew the newly formed government in a bloodless coup while Mancham was overseas at a Commonwealth conference in London. René initially denied involvement, but eventually took responsibility as leader of the SPUP. This coup was claimed to have been to prevent the establishment of a one-party state, but likely was more motivated by the SPUP's lack of representation in the newly formed legislature.
Michel's vice president, Danny Faure, was sworn in following the former's surprise resignation in October 2016. In the October 2020 general election, Wavel Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest, defeated Faure by 54.9% to 43.5%, and the opposition therefore took power for the first time since 1977. The Seychelles National Party, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy and the Seychelles United Party formed a coalition, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), to contest the National Assembly. LDS won 25 and former ruling party United Seychelles (US) 10 seats of the 35 seats of the National Assembly. However, in the 2025 Seychellois general election United Seychelles won 15 out of 26 seats in the parliament.
In October 2025, presidential runoff was won by former parliamentary speaker and main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie, meaning Herminie's party, United Seychelles (US) returned to power. On 26 October 2025, Patrick Herminie was sworn in as Seychelles’ sixth president.
Executive branch
|President
|Wavel Ramkalawan
|LDS
|26 October 2020
|}
The President of Seychelles, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office, and can be re-elected only once.
The cabinet is presided over and appointed by the President, subject to the approval of a majority of the legislature.
Legislative branch
The National Assembly/Assemblée Nationale has 34 members, elected for a term of five years, 25 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 9 members elected by proportional representation.
Political parties and elections
Presidential elections
Parliamentary elections
Administrative divisions
Seychelles is divided in 25 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Royale, Au Cap, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, English River, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), Inner Islands, Les mamelles, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe Larue, Port Glaud, Roche Caiman, Saint Louis, Takamaka.
International organization participation
Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, ACP, AfDB, African Union, Commonwealth of Nations, ECA, FAO, Group of 77, IBRD, ICAO, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, IFAD, International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, InOC, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Standardization (correspondent), International Trade Union Confederation, Non-Aligned Movement, OPCW, Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA), Southern African Development Community, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UPU, World Health Organization, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant).