Voters in Seychelles headed back to the polls on Thursday for a run-off between the sitting president and the leader of the long-dominant ruling party, which has already regained control of parliament.

In the first round last month, Patrick Herminie, a former National Assembly speaker from the United Seychelles party, outpaced President Wavel Ramkalawan by more than 2 percentage points, with 48.8% of the more than 64,000 ballots cast.

“I think the people of Seychelles want a balance of power to get the best deal,” Ramkalawan said.

His Linyon Demokratik Seselwa coalition lost its parliamentary majority in last month’s vote, so he would preside over a divided government if he were to win.

Voting began on outlying islands and for some essential workers on Thursday, with polling stations

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