(Seychelles News Agency) - A special convention held Friday of the main opposition party in Seychelles, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), approved its 26 candidates for the forthcoming National Assembly elections.

Each candidate had one minute to address those present at the convention held at the International Conference Centre in Victoria, the capital.

LDS is running its campaign for both the presidential and legislative elections under the theme 'Sesel pour tou son zanfan' (Seychelles for all its children).

Launching the event, Party Leader Roger Mancienne thanked the members of the sixth National Assembly which was dissolved last week.

He said that the sixth Assembly had made a historic contribution to the country with many accomplishments.

"It delivered on its assigned role of providing checks and balances on government. It verified the government's work and included the people in the process. This raised the image of the National Assembly as it remained true to our election motto of 'Fer li ou Lasanble (Make it your Assembly)," said Mancienne.

A special convention approved the candidates at the International Conference Centre in Victoria. (Linyon Demokratik Seselwa)  Photo License: CC-BY

Outgoing elected member for the northern Anse Etoile district, who is also the LDS Vice presidential candidate, Ahmed Afif, said that through the work by the LDS team, the public is now more cognizant of their rights, where the money comes from and how it is spent.

He called on the new candidates to "always remain in touch with your constituency. Always be prepared and do your research and remember there is no such thing as a stupid question. Sometimes as the Leader of the Opposition always says, you let out a small line and you end up catching a huge shark," he said.

On his part, the LDS presidential candidate, Wavel Ramkalwan, underlined the positive atmosphere which is surrounding this political campaign despite the fact that the elections are being held in a time of economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have chosen 'Seychelles for all her children" as our slogan because we want to bring about a transformation in our country to make it somewhere where everyone gets the same recognition, the same opportunities," he said.

He asked all the candidates and the activists to fully immerse themselves in this mission to bring about the transformation of a government which would be ready to take the tough decisions needed.

The National Assembly elections in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, will take place simultaneously with the presidential election from October 22-24.