And yes, that’s the question I ask myself after talking to several young people in the country. Do young Seychellois know the Constitution of the country?

This year the central theme to commemorate Constitution Day is “Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities”. At what point in our lives should we be aware of our basic rights and responsibilities? It is a debate in itself.

The Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles is the fundamental law of Seychelles which was approved by referendum on June 18, 1993. It has since been amended ten times. June 18 is in Seychelles the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution, known as “Constitution Day”.

This is the third Constitution that the Seychelles have known. The Constitution of June 29, 1976 established a republic of the semi-presidential type faithful to the values of liberal democracies. Diplomatically inclined towards the West, devoid of an army, it nevertheless wants to be open to the world beyond ideological competition and intends to give the image – by drawing the argument from its very weakness – of an authentic non-alignment.

But, the experience was cut short in less than a year. The political contract uniting the two parties in the sharing of governmental responsibilities, with the establishment at the top of a kind of diarchy (James Richard Mancham is President of the Republic and France Albert René Prime Minister), is broken by the peaceful coup d’etat of June 5, 1977.

After two years of transition based on presidential decrees, the Seychelles adopted a new Constitution on March 26, 1979, the draft of which was discussed at length during popular debates. It creates a regime that is both presidentialist and socialist.

The Constitution is necessary to guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens. It lays down, for example, the principle of the equality of citizens before the law, makes universal suffrage the source of legitimacy and grants everyone the right to have their case heard before an independent tribunal. The Constitution also protects the rights and freedoms of citizens against potential abuse of power by holders of power (executive, legislative, and judicial).

What are we doing to encourage children/young people to learn about our Constitution? There are primary and secondary schools that organize activities to introduce the Constitution to children. A few years ago there was even a quiz competition between schools on the Constitution. But with the pandemic, such activities have more or less stopped.

Young people are asked each year to have their opinion on the Constitution, but unfortunately a large majority are not interested in what the Constitution represents in their lives.

We have started educating our children/young people on this subject and we hope that more efforts will be put in this direction.

We must all make an effort to know our Constitution, as it guarantees our fundamental rights and also acts as a watchdog for the executive, legislative, and judiciary.

I end this short reflection with the famous quote from Alfred Sauvy “Well informed, men are citizens; misinformed they become subjects”.

Happy Constitution Day everyone!

Source: Seychelles Nation