Most Seychelles voters will cast their ballot Saturday in presidential and parliamentary elections spanning three days across an idyllic archipelago that has been economically hammered by the coronavirus.
Polling stations opened at 0300 GMT on Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue — the three main islands of Seychelles, home to the majority of its 74,600 voters, with the rest living on the further-flung territory of the Indian Ocean nation.
Voting took place Thursday and Friday on a few dozen of these outer islands, mainly for employees of hotels or the island management authority, who attended pop-up polling stations with election material carried by plane or boat.
Some on the main islands deemed essential workers, such as hospital and nursing staff, also voted Thursday.
The opposition, narrowly defeated in a presidential election in 2015 and buoyed by a landmark victory in a parliamentary poll a year later, is hoping for its first presidential win in the 40 years since Seychelles independence.
It is up against the incumbent Danny Faure, 58, who is running under the recently renamed United Seychelles ruling party which has been in power since 1977.
His main rival is the Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan, who is taking his sixth shot at the presidency and lost by only 193 votes to Michel in an unprecedented second round of voting in 2015.
Seychelles recorded only 149 COVID-19 cases, mostly imported, however, the pandemic not only brought restrictions in campaigning but also on global travel to a region that largely depends on tourism.
The economy has slowed significantly since the start of the pandemic and unemployment has risen from 4.8 to 6.3 percent, according to government figures.
