Seychelles votes amid concerns over hotel near marine reserve
Voting in the Indian Ocean archipelago runs from Thursday to Saturday.
Seychelles has the highest wealth per capita in Africa -- around $18,000 according to the World Bank.
But it lies on a key drug smuggling route between Afghanistan and East Africa that has fuelled one of the highest rates of heroin addiction in the world.
President Wavel Ramkalawan, an Anglican priest, is hoping for a second five-year term.
His main opponent is Patrick Herminie, head of the United Seychelles party that dominated the country's politics from independence in 1976 up to 2020.
In 2023, Herminie was charged with "witchcraft". He said the accusation was a political attack and the case was dropped a few months later.
Herminie headed the government's anti-drug agency and could benefit from the continued problems around drug trafficking in Seychelles, although the issue played a limited role in the campaign.
The country's Agency for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation says 5,000 to 6,000 people use heroin out of a population of around 120,000. Other estimates put the figure as high as 10,000.
A bigger issue in the election has been the government's decision to lease a vast area of Assumption Island for 70 years for a Qatari-built luxury hotel with its own airstrip.
Assumption lies just 40 kilometres (24.8 miles) from Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage marine reserve, home to the world's largest tortoise and coconut crab populations.
Photos circulated on social media showing diggers on the beach and a tortoise with a broken shell, sparking outrage.
Herminie has promised to cancel the agreement with the Qatari developers.
With no official polling, the result is hard to predict.
Ramkalawan refused to take part in pre-election debates.
"We are a country that is doing better than many European countries in the fight against corruption," he said during one rally.
A French and then British colony, the Seychelles gained independence in 1976.
The first multi-party election was held in 1993 after the adoption of a new constitution.
Three-quarters of the population live on the main island of Mahe, where the capital, Victoria, is located.
A record eight candidates are standing for election this year, reflecting increasing dissatisfaction with the traditional parties, according to former MP Georges Bibi.
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