Editorial - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE PRESDENT OF ALL THE PEOPLE

EDITORIAL

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE PRESDENT OF ALL THE PEOPLE

In his televised statement to the leading members of the SPDF on New Years day President Michel said that he was elected as president of all the people of Seychelles. This is what this newspaper has been trying to tell Mr Michel – even before he was directly elected and had been holding the fort as President of our Republic, after the resignation of Mr Rene.

Although, as it seems to be the case, Mr Michel has belatedly come to the realisation that he is the President of all the people – this is not because all the people voted for him. The notion that he is the president of all the people is borne out of the Constitution, the bedrock of our “democracy”. For under the Constitution, there can be only one President of Seychelles who is the Chief Executive of the Seychellois nation. To choose that person, the Constitution provides for a competitive election every five years. The balloting, the Constitution also says, must be in secret. No one should be able to know who a voter has voted for. After the votes have been counted, the person with an absolute majority of the votes is declared the President of the Republic of Seychelles – that is, as Mr Michel rightly told the SPDF leaders, the president of all the people regardless of his or her political affiliation.

There is, however, one other overriding factor why Mr Michel should always consider himself to be and behave as President of all the people. This is because, under the rule of law which characterises our democracy, everyone is equal before the law. And as the most senior Executive of the nation, Mr Michel is the principal law enforcement officer. His oath of office obliges him to act at all times “without fear or favour”. That oath is worth reminding at this juncture “ I, James Alix Michel, do swear and sincerely declare and affirm that I will faithfully and diligently perform my duties and discharge my functions in the office of President of Seychelles, that I will be faithful to the Republic of Seychelles, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws of Seychelles and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Seychelles without fear or favour, affection or ill will.”

If President Michel is to be true to these words, and really wishes to be the President of all the people he must make a real commitment to govern by the rule of law and respect the Constitution at all times. He has no discretion on this issue. The Constitution says that “every person has a right to equal protection of the law, including the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set out in this Charter (the Seychellois Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) without discrimination on any ground...” This means that as President, Mr Michel has no power to shield any member of his family or supporter of his party against the application of the law.

The occasion of his statement, in front of a very politically partisan institution does not give much hope that we can expect more of Mr Michel during this mandate. For the SPDF is a politically partisan institution (the army of the SPPF) created to enforce the rule of the party over the entire population. Mr Michel can, however, start dismantling this reality, by ordering the SPDF to invite the Leader of the Opposition to meet with the senior officers in the same venue where he spoke on New Year’s Day with SBC giving the same coverage on television. In Britain, the Leader of the Opposition is afforded the same privileges and arrangements to visit the troops in Iraq in order to talk to the soldiers. South East Island is not that far and can be accessed by road. This exercise will not only change the perception of the people but give real credence to Mr Michel’s statement while at the same time make the SPDF the army for all the people.

One other thing Mr Michel can do to further his desire and to fulfil his constitutional obligation to be the President of all the people is to invite SNP MNA’s whenever he visits a district they represent, not only to be photographed with him, but also to hear the complaints and suggestions made by the people of the district through them, for it is the MNA who represents the district. The DAs represent the Government and by definition him.

So far, Mr Michel has not acted in the spirit of the Constitution – that is, behaving as the President of all the people, regardless of political affiliations of the citizens. The very next day upon his election Mr Michel deliberately behaved as a partisan President. He declared the day a national holiday encouraging his party supporters in party colours to drive around the country “in celebration.” The following Saturday he was the principal speaker at a rally of SPPF supporters and spoke of the SPPF family.

If Mr Michel starts to govern by the law and the constitution and orders all the government officials to do the same while respecting the rights bestowed on the citizens by the Constitution he would have achieved his desire to be the President of all the people and those who did not vote for him will accept him as such.