as well as a resounding victory for President Rene. Three political groups contested the elections—the SPPF, the DP, and the United Opposition (UO)—a coalition of three smaller political parties, including Parti Seselwa. Two other smaller opposition parties threw in their lot with the DP. All participating parties and international observer groups accepted the results as "free and fair." Three candidates again contested the 1998 presidential election: Albert Rene (SPPF), James Mancham (DP), and Wavel Ramkalawan. Again, President Rene and his SPPF party enjoyed a landslide victory. The President's vote in the 20–22 March elections jumped to 66.6% from 59.5% in 1993, while the SPPF garnered 61.7% of the total votes cast in the National Assembly election, compared to 56.5% in 1993. The twenty-first century Early elections originally set for 2003 were called in August/September 2001. The Government Party SPPF again prevailed, although the main Opposition Party, Seychelles National Party (previously known as the United Opposition Party) headed by Wavel Ramkalawan, made a surprisingly strong showing and collected 46% of the total votes. The DP, headed by Mancham, did not take part in the elections. In April 2004, Rene retired as president, passing the office to his vice president, James Michel. At the next presidential election in July 2006, Michel polled 53.7% of valid votes, Wavel Ramkalawan 45.7% and Phillip Boulle 0.6%. In the May 2007 National Assembly elections, Seychelles People's Progressive Front took 56.2% of votes and Seychelles National Party in coalition with Seychelles Democratic Party took 43.8%. This gave SPPF 18 directly elected seats plus 5 nominated, total 23 seats with the SNP/DP coalition taking 7 directly elected plus 4 nominated, total 11 seats. The former vice-president, Danny Faure, was sworn in as president in October 2016, following the surprise resignation of James Michel. The new National Assembly building on Ile du Port, Victoria opened in 2009. The building was partly financed by the Government of China. Wavel Ramkalawan is the current President of Seychelles, and was elected in October 2020. Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan defeated President Danny Faure by 54.9% to 43.5%. The opposition took power in the Seychelles for the first time since 1977, following its victory in the presidential election. The election of the National Assembly was held on the 22–24 October 2020. The Seychelles National Party, the Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy and the Seychelles United Party formed a coalition, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa