Seychelles

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members: 34
Women: 7
Percentage of women: 20.6%

Speaker

No information available

Secretary general

Secretary General: Tania Isaac (Female)

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2020-10)

Breakdown of members by age and gender
	18 - 20	21 - 30	31 - 40	41 - 45	46 - 50	51 - 60	61 - 70	71 - 80	81 - 90	91 and over	Totals per gender
Male	0	1	6	6	6	6	1	1	0	0	27
Female	0	0	2	0	1	5	0	0	0	0	8
Totals per age interval	0	1	8	6	7	11	1	1	0	0	35
	Total <= 45: 15				Total >= 46: 20

Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal	Overall	Male	Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger	2.9%	2.9%	0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger	25.7%	20%	5.7%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger	42.9%	37%	5.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups: No
Electoral quota for women: No

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament: 1976

Notes: 1976: The first ever woman in the Parliament of the Seychelles was appointed; the first elected women in Parliament were in June 1979, 8 women out of 25 members

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker: Not applicable

Notes: No woman has occupied the function of Speaker in the country.

Women’s suffrage

Date of independence: 1976

Women’s right to vote: 1945
Restricted or universal suffrage: No information available

Women’s right to vote: 1976
Restricted or universal suffrage: Universal

Notes: Prior to independence, under British administration, women were granted the right to vote at the local level in 1945 and on 6 August 1948 at the national level. This right was confirmed at independence.

Women's right to stand for election: 1976
Restricted or universal: Universal

Notes: Prior to independence, under British administration, women were granted the right to vote and stand for election at the local level in 1945 and on 6 August 1948 at the national level. These rights were confirmed at independence.

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Updated at	Current number of members
2023-12	34
2020-12	35
2016-09	33
2014-01	32
2012-01	34
2011-12	32
1998-01	34
1993-01	33
1991-01	24
1976-01	25
1974-01	15

Updated at	Women
2023-12	7
2020-10	8
2016-09	7
2011-09	14
2007-05	8
2002-12	10
1998-01	8
1993-01	9
1991-01	11
1987-01	4
1983-01	6
1979-01	8
1976-01	1
1974-01	0

Updated at	Percentage of women
2023-12	20.6%
2020-12	22.9%
2020-10	24.2%
2016-09	21.2%
2014-01	43.8%
2012-01	41.2%
2011-12	43.8%
2011-09	41.2%
2007-05	23.5%
2002-12	29.4%
1998-01	23.5%
1993-01	27.3%
1991-01	45.8%
1987-01	16.0%
1983-01	24.0%
1979-01	32.0%
1976-01	4.0%
1974-01	0.0%