Seychelles’ President Faure explains prison closure, his view on split government

The Seychelles' President in the live press conference on Wednesday. (State House) 

(Seychelles News Agency) - The president of the Seychelles Danny Faure held a news conference that was televised live Wednesday night to expand on his State of the Nation speech earlier in the week. The Seychelles News Agency offers a review of the press conference.

Prison closure: President Faure expanded on his decision to close the Marie-Louise prison, located on the island with the same name, where convicted drug traffickers are sent. Faure said he had considered different points of view and concluded that there are other alternatives.

"We are trying to see how to move these 19 detainees until the prison is closed completely in December," he said.

Split government: For the first time since the introduction of multi-party democracy in Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, the country is in cohabitation. The National Assembly is controlled by the opposition party – Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) -- while the executive body is from the president’s Parti Lepep.

"When I was preparing my program, I was inspired by the problems affecting the population. What is important is that we have problems and we need to see together how to solve them. I'm not interested in who is the winner, but by the fact that the Seychelles wins,” Faure said. 

(State House)Photo License: CC-BY

On the concessions that the head of state has made following the demands of the opposition, Faure said that this was carried out in line with the broad guidelines of his party.

"As a head of state, I look at the nation, I do not have to consult anyone. I take decisions in the interest of the people because the constitution gives me this right. I am aware that there are people who do not necessarily understand what I'm doing," said the president.

June 5 holiday: On the issue of the removal of June 5 -- ‘Liberation Day’ -- as a public holiday, an initiative he announced in his New Year message, Faure said: "We cannot continue being divided. We need to follow the path where there is unity despite our divergence of point view."

The public holiday on June 5 had been a point of contention between the Government and the opposition, as it was marked by a coup d'état where the president at the time, James Mancham, was deposed and France Albert Rene took over power.

This date was considered to be a source of division and Faure said that his decision will put an end to this tension.