CONSTITUTION

Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles, adopted June 18, 1993; amended 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000.

FORM OF STATE

Republic

HEAD OF STATE

The President is the Head of State and Government, as well as Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President is elected by direct universal adult suffrage; the Vice-President is elected on the same ticket as the President. The President is restricted to three terms of office of five years each.

EXECUTIVE

Executive power lies with the President who is assisted by the Vice-President and a Cabinet; cabinet members are appointed by the President with the approval of the Assembly.

LEGISLATURE

Legislative power is vested in a unicameral parliament, the National Assembly. 25 members are elected in first-past-the-post single member constituency elections. Up to 10 further members are elected by proportional representation (PR); each party is allocated 1 seat for every 10% of the vote obtained; the threshold for a PR seat is 10%. The term of the National Assembly is five years.

JUDICIARY

The court system comprises a Court of Appeal, a Supreme Court and subordinate courts and tribunals. The President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice (head of the Supreme Court) and all other judges are appointed by the President from candidates nominated by the Constitutional Appointments Authority. Judges are removable by the President for incompetence or misbehaviour only on the recommendation of a tribunal of judges appointed by the Constitutional Appointments Authority. When the Supreme Court acts as the Constitutional Court at least two judges must sit on the bench.

AMENDMENTS

The Constitution cannot be amended without a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. Amendments to Chapter 1 (the Republic), Chapter Three (the bill of rights), Article 91 (the entrenchment clause) and Articles 110-111 (dissolution of the Assembly) are further entrenched; amendments of these clauses require a 60% approval in a national referendum.