I’LL BE BACK

[The Political Ambition to Rule. ]

Dear Editor,

Introduction:

As elections loom in, I got the chance to review the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film entitled; ‘the terminator’, whereby the actor enunciated the catchphrase: “I’ll Be Back”. It gave me the feeling to sit and ponder over the same stance from the Leader of the Opposition (LOTO) in the majority opposition National Assembly. YES () He will be back, as he ought to be back for the Presidential elections 2020.

His party narrowly lost their presidential race in 2016, but managed to obtain a cutting–edge in the National Assembly Parliamentary votes erupting with a 15-10 victory, for a majority opposition House. The Opposition coalition (LDS) won Seychelles’ National Assembly elections in that historic electoral transition. Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) won the parliamentary polls held in Seychelles in September 2016, with majority votes in 15 of the 25 constituencies contested, while the ruling Parti Lepep (now US-United Seychelles) took the remaining 10. It was the first time since the return of multiparty democracy in Seychelles in 1993 that the ruling Parti Lepep lost its majority in parliament. LDS is a coalition of four main parties including the Seychelles National Party (SNP) which boycotted the 2011 parliamentary polls.

But in the months since the election, their vigorous political activities have kept them in the headlines – enough so that the Leader of the Opposition is now being touted as a potential 2020 winner of the upcoming Presidential elections. Never had the sales of radios been so much on the rise that everyone had their ears glued to the debates of the National Assembly, to date…

If political campaigns were once seen as zero-sum games, these days they are more about building a brand, in which even a loss becomes another chapter. This has been so evident in the last presidential running in Seychelles, that candi-dates’ episode their losses and returned with an even fervent bid to stand, again and again. In an age, where social media has taken root, candidates who construct a compelling narrative and give people someone to root for, are finding that their influence, not only political, but also social and cultural bear fruit, so to speak; as long as there is an audience and they are interested in the story they have to tell.

You can send a message to the people you want to reach, but it is becoming rationally difficult to keep on enticing the people and taking them for fantasy rides. In the current climate, these days are fading like the stars in the early morning sky. One ought to have a sound fundraising model, not one that is disruptive and unsettling. And if one is grateful enough to become a leading icon, then one should have the back-up of the traditional media amplifying you, and giving you the new ecosystem of followers.

If, the Leader of the Opposition wins, then he would be the first President outside the SPUP/SPPF/Lepep/US realm since 1977, forty odd years on genitive rule. Had he won in 2016; it would have been the outcome of a progressive cam-paign with four main opposition parties (the Seychelles National Party, the Seychellois Alliance, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy and the Seychelles United Party) which formed a coalition- Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) in order to contest the elections, having boycotted the 2011 elections.  After the votes came in, LDS refused to concede defeat, reproaching Parti Lepep of rigging the elections, the votes and the final results.

The Leader of the Opposition has since doubled his efforts and his cause to ‘be back’; starting with some meticulous National Assembly works, including the scrutinized FPAC investigations and even managed to rally some strategic leaders of the Linyon Seselwa (LS) in his flanks.        

I now foresee his ‘come-back’ to the presidential elections with a dynamic running mate, of whom he envisages will deliver results on the bedrock of all issues. It ought to be about authenticity, as our politics, for some, is viewed as enhancing the personality of the individual rather than their approach to governance.”

However, the new incumbent President Mr. Danny Faure, has come up with a more open and outreached political plat-form, but this new reality has its options to be divisive and to some even conflict-ridden, whilst encouraging the public to view politics through the lens of personal narratives: good versus evil, heroes versus villains. Politics, though, can become polarized, contentious, and entertaining as each side clings to their symbolic heroes, who are supposedly fighting against the ‘dark side.’

There is also the risk of oversaturation. We did witness, in the past, political leaders, that during the reign, had their fac-es splashed too much on national television and much to the amusement of some people who, in the one too much of the airings would be seen on air for the clumsiest of issues. This prompted a lot of chatter about what is too much in-formation or ‘videography’. And some pundits wondered if they were, maybe, a little too comfortable sharing their doubts, uncertainties, and half-baked policy plans. It would not be a positive development where they to continue in this mode indefinitely – to run for president on a platform of being nice and listening to other people’s ideas without assert-ing any practical ideas of one’s own. I guess now the tables have turned!

For the Leader of the Opposition, the concern now is whether he’ll be able to survive this new assignment with his digni-ty intact! With the rising effect of social medias, access to privy information and videos, the scorn of being name and shame, the presidential ride will be much of a challenging journey, let alone the ease of winning it. The echoes of ‘knock-out’, ‘write-off’ and ‘stamp on him’ are still vivid in the valleys of confrontations and political campaigns. The 2020 record will be playing at a much aggressive note and will definitely make the headlines, as we might foresee an-other second round battle of the fittest. Indeed, it is quite possible the pendulum may swing back at some point. People are still adjusting to the idea that they can reach out to their officials on platforms that feel personal and intimate. But new tech – and its impact on daily life and society – has always been exciting, right up to the moment it becomes archi-tectural.

Afresh from reading the Books of EXODUS, I believe that the upcoming 2020 Presidential election which is around the crossroads, will be a litmus test for Seychellois youths to know if they really want to move on to their Biblical Canaan Land, (a land flowing with milk and honey) or they choose to remain in Egypt with the proverbial crumbs falling off the taskmasters’ tables, and their whips.

Conclusion:

Luke 6:29-31: If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop him from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don’t insist on getting it back. “Do for other people everything you want them to do for you.” > And rest assure, as Don Moen sings, “GOD will make a way, where there seems to be no way”.

Author: Jacob Terence Madeleine.

Writer, National Unity Advocate

Date: 01st October 2020