§ 27. Mr. Rileyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any steps are being taken to provide for elected 166 members to the Seychelles Legislative Council; and whether such elected members will be elected by universal suffrage or on a property qualification and, if the latter, what will the qualification be.
§ Colonel StanleyAs announced in the Seychelles by the Governor on 24th January this year, His Majesty's Government have decided that as soon as possible after the war they will agree to the introduction of elections in respect of up to 3 of the unofficial Members of the Legislative Council, if in the meantime they are satisfied that elections are desired by a substantial and representative body of public opinion amongst that part of the community which will be affected. The franchise would be based on a property or income qualification plus a simple literacy qualification, the gross minimum income qualification being 700 Rupees per annum. In the meantime the number of nominated unofficial Members of the Legislative Council has been increased by three with a corresponding increase in the official membership.