Assumption Island: A Crucial Factor in Seychelles' Presidential Elections

Sun Oct 19 2025 20:31:27 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

As Seychelles heads to the polls, the fate of the barely habitable Assumption Island has emerged as a contentious issue influencing the presidential race, sparking environmental concerns and geopolitical debates.

The underwhelming Assumption Island could play a pivotal role in the upcoming elections in Seychelles. While its geographic isolation may suggest limited significance, its strategic location and ongoing developments have transformed it into a key topic for voters. The ruling party faces criticism for leasing the island to Qatari investors for luxury development, which has raised alarm over environmental protection and national sovereignty.

A tiny, almost barren island in the Indian Ocean has become a battleground in this weekend's elections in Seychelles, prompting global environmental concern.

Assumption Island, in the western Indian Ocean, possesses little at first glance that would set even the most curious and intrepid traveller's pulse racing. Stripped almost bare and blisteringly hot, with few man-made structures, it covers an area similar to London's Heathrow Airport and is, arguably, only slightly more scenic.

Yet this tropical island anomaly - both geographically remote, and far from the popular ideal of lush paradise - has become a hotspot for geopolitical powers and eco-warriors, plus a political lightning rod in Seychelles, the country that owns it.

Situated 1,140km (700 miles) from Seychelles' most populous main island, tourist-friendly Mahé, Assumption Island is a sausage-shaped, coralline finger of low-level scrub, fringed by casuarina trees. It was ravaged for its nitrogen-rich guano (seabird droppings) and agricultural use ended decades ago.

But now, Assumption Island's strategic position and ecological value is priceless. The island lies close to this century's Silk Road – the busy commercial shipping lanes carrying manufactured goods and materials from East Asia to Africa and beyond. India was keen to build a military base on Assumption but was rebuffed.

As the tiny republic goes to the polls in presidential and parliamentary ballots, Assumption is a key electoral touchpoint. At least under my watch, there will never be a foreign military base in Seychelles, President Wavel Ramkalawan tells BBC News, on the eve of polling. We are not interested in the geopolitics. We remain outside.

The lease of Assumption Island, or at least part of it, to the Qatari royal family has stirred sensitivities. Via a Middle East investment company, Assets Group, the Qataris are currently building an exclusive, 40-villa luxury resort there, with an upgraded concrete airstrip capable of receiving executive jets, far from prying eyes.

Conservation campaigners highlight the island's ecological importance, especially its nesting beaches for green turtles. Assumption acts as the gateway to the Unesco-listed Aldabra atoll, home to unique species and one of the world's greatest natural treasures, according to Sir David Attenborough.

The ongoing development raises concerns about potential damage to the island's environment and wildlife. Campaign groups are seeking a judicial review of the development to call for a more thorough environmental impact study.

President Ramkalawan, amidst accusations of betrayal of the Seychellois public's interests, remains firm on the necessity of foreign investments to recover from the economic downturn following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Dr. Patrick Herminie positions himself as a challenger to Ramkalawan, emphasizing the people's dissatisfaction with current governance and promising reforms. The political landscape in Seychelles is increasingly fraught, with the fallout from the Assumption Island controversy possibly swinging voters' opinions this election season.