Opposition leader Patrick Herminie of the United Seychelles party won the presidential run-off vote on 12 October, defeating incumbent Wavel Ramkalawan with 52.7 percent of the vote. Herminie’s victory returns his party, which governed for four decades, to power after a five-year hiatus. The new administration’s key focus will be tackling the high cost of living, and a crisis of drug addiction. This political shift signals an appetite for change amid concerns over economic hardship, potentially impacting future investment and regulatory policy.