Wavel Ramkalawan (born 15 March 1959) is a Seychellois politician and Anglican priest who has been serving as the president of Seychelles since 26 October 2020. Ramkalawan was an opposition MP from 1993 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. On 25 October 2020, Ramkalawan won the presidential election, the country's first such victory for an opposition candidate since independence, marking its first successful peaceful transition of power. Early life Wavel Ramkalawan was born in Mahé, the principal island of Seychelles. He was born into a modest family, the youngest of three children. His grandfather was from Bihar, India. His father was a tinsmith while his mother was a teacher. Ramkalawan's primary and secondary education were at Seychelles College, the elite boys' school of the country. Ramkalawan was ordained as a priest in 1985 following theological studies at St Paul's Theological College, Mauritius, and thereafter followed further studies in theology at Birmingham University. Returning to Seychelles, he worked in several parishes in Seychelles, rising to become priest-in-charge of the parish of The Holy Saviour. Entry into politics It was his work as a priest that led Ramkalawan to politics. Through his pastoral work, he came into contact with many people who had been subject to repression and abuses of human and civil liberties by the government. At that time, the Catholic and Anglican churches were the only institutions that could speak on social issues; they were allowed to address these topics in sermons during weekly services, which were broadcast on alternate Sundays. In 1990, Ramkalawan preached a sermon, broadcast on the national radio station, in which he questioned the practices of the one-party government and advocated for greater freedom, respect for human rights and observance of the rule of law in the country. Although his broadcast was cut, Ramkalawan distributed copies of sermons criticizing the government. In 1991, while still a priest, he joined fellow dissidents Roger Mancienne and Jean-François Ferrari to form the underground Parti Seselwa. Ramkalawan became its first leader. Opposition leader When the government, facing both domestic and international pressure, returned the country to multi-party democracy in 1992, Parti Seselwa was the first political party to register and join the ranks of others in opposition to the government. The party contested the 1992 constitutional commission elections; they polled only 4% of