Victoria, Seychelles – Presidential candidate of Seychelles Wawel Ramkalawan and his running mate Ahmed Afif whose family is from Addu, Maldives, have succeeded in the 2020 presidential election of the country, defeating President Danny Faure, who has been in power since 1977, first as Vice President and later as President.
Ramkalawan of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party, who unsuccessfully contested the presidency since 1998 finally managed to win the election this year which was held on Thursday and Friday of this week, in which more than 74,600 voters out of a population of 100,000 casted their votes.
According to provisional figures reported by the local media, Ramkalawan and Afif secured 55 percent of votes, while incumbent Danny Faure trailed with 43 percent of votes. It has also been reported that the party has won the Parliamentary elections as well.
Afif, who completed his Bachelor of Science in MORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics & Economics) in 1992 first worked at the Central Bank of Seychelles where he worked as a Clerk, during the year 1987, prior to his Bachelors.
Afif during an interview is reported to have pledged that his role as Vice President of the country would be to assist President Ramkalawan implement his reform and vision to govern Seychelles during the next five years, where he will help advise and prepare an action plan of reforms in line with the thinking of the new government. HE further said that he will also ensure that the process of transforming plans to reality is smooth, efficient and practical, while bearing in mind that the need to transform Seychelles rapidly will take place in a very fluid environment.
He credited his principles and way of thinking to his parents, who are both from Addu City, Maldives. He said that they believed in working diligently and hard, while always being honest in what one does.
After graduating he returned to Seychelles and worked for the Department of Industry and later joined a task force set up in 1994 under the Central Bank of Seychelles to advise the Government on the setting up of an International Business sector for Seychelles, before he joined the newly offshore authority, SIBA before moving on to the Department of Finance, the Vice-Presidents Office and later on the President’s Office undertaking various functions including economic policy and day to day running of the Government, in 1995.
In 2005, he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of SIBA and served until 2007 when he was appointed as the Principal Secretary of Finance & Trade. Hon. Afif has served on several Government Boards throughout the years, including Chairmanship of two state Banks, Nouvobanq and the Seychelles Savings Bank.
In 2008, he was instrumental in helping Government design and implement a major macro-economic reform involving major fiscal and monetary reforms and went on to serve the Ministry of Finance until 2012. In the years to follow, Hon. Afif worked in the private sector as a business and financial consultant.
However, in September 2016, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly for the District of Anse Etoile, while also serving as the Vice-Chairperson of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee and the Chief Whip for the opposition party LDS.
