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Mr Mancham therefore visited a number of OAU countries, notably Nigeria and Congo (Kinshasa), whose leaders, however, told him that the programme of the OAU was independence for all African countries, and that they would be happy to receive him when he had changed his policy. He did so. Partly as a result of his tour, but partly because he calculated that sooner or later the SPUP would win an election and go for immediate independence anyway, Mr Mancham opted for elections in the spring of 1974 on a platform of independence under the SDP.
4. The electoral system immediately became a renewed issue.
The SPUP demanded a revision before the elections; the SDP rejected one, for obvious reasons. By then the Labour government was in power in Britain, and Miss Lestor, while sympathising with the SPUP's claims, advised Mr René to participate in the elections on the existing basis. If, as Mr René predicted, this
resulted in a majority of the popular vote going to the SPUP, but most of the seats to the SDP, this would be a fact which HMG would naturally take into account. In the event, however, the elections in April 1974 resulted in little change; (thus demonstrating the relative unimportance of issues in Seychelles elections. Mr Mancham's anti-independence platform in 1970 attracted virtually the same electors as voted for his independence programme in 1974.) The governing SDP got 3 more seats, but the gap in the popular vote narrowed by 1%, though the balance was still in the SDP's favour with a 5% lead. The
SPUP immediately launched a series of formal electoral petitions but without success.
5. Since both parties were now committed to independence, it then became necessary for HMG to plan for a constitutional conference. Owing to the change of the British Government in February 1974, the question of independence for the dependent territories had not been considered by the Cabinet, but
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