SNP “Ready To Lead”

The annual convention of the Seychelles National Party was a rallying call for members to work for victory in the Presidential election due next year.

The SNP is ‘Ready to Lead’, Party Leader Wavel Ramkalawan declared to participants gathered in the International Conference  Centre, Victoria, on Sunday. The SNP has proven that it had the right ideas on what was necessary to move the country forward, the Party Leader said to an enthusiastic audience, and it has championed the principles that the ruling party is following today.  It has shown that it is capable of leading the country to achieve a higher standard of governance and prosperity for its citizens, he declared. 

Mr. Ramkalawan expressed his confidence that the SNP has the support of the majority of the people of Seychelles today, and would win the election if it they were free and fair. The convention was a resolute call for the party to do everything possible to remove the obstacles to greater democracy and equitable conditions for elections.

Party Leader Ramkalawan said that Seychellois people had been taught to be fearful of change, but that it had realized there was nothing to fear. SNP did not believe in forcing politics into people’s lives. “No one has to fear for his liberty, his rights, his job or his security under an SNP Government”, the SNP leader said.
The approaching elections loomed large in the business of the Convention, from the Secretary-General’s report to the resolutions at the end of the event. Officers and members stressed the need for everyone to view it as a defining moment in the history of Seychelles and for all to work for the goal of making SNP the next Government of Seychelles.

The convention was the occasion to deal with administrative requirements which included approval of the country’s accounts for 2009. In an open forum, members took the opportunity to bring forward points that they wanted the party to take up. These points were framed into resolutions on a number of points on which the party executive was called to act.

One of the resolutions passed was to endorse a petition calling for an independent and impartial SBC which members signed, to be delivered to State House. Others included protecting artisanal fishing for  Seychellois, improving the salary and conditions of home carers, ensuring equal pay for all stevedores, and pressing for an independent electoral commission.

The Convention approved a special motion to extend the mandate of the Executive Committee in place for one year instead of holding elections. In presenting this motion, executive committee member Bernard Georges explained that the present executive committee had begun preparing next year’s elections campaign and needed to carry on with the task.

The Convention elected two officers to fill vacant posts. Maryse Eichler was elected as the Party Treasurer to replace Alain St. Ange and Bryan Julie was elected as the new Deputy Treasurer.

The Convention paid a special tribute to the events of October 3, 2006, when party leaders and members were beaten up by police outside the National Assembly, an occasion which symbolized the party’s struggle for freedom of expression in Seychelles.

 Sunday’s event included the draw for a lottery which the SNP had organized. Sharifa Ho-Kan of Port Glaud came away with the star prize of a new Hyundai I10 car.