Elections in Mauritius

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Mauritius
Constitution

Elections in Mauritius gives information on elections and election results in Mauritius. Since 1967, Mauritius has experienced 11 free and fair democratic general elections to choose a government.

The government is formed by the party or group which controls a majority on the unicameral legislature. The National Assembly has 70 members, 62 elected for a four-year term in 21 multi-member constituencies and 8 additional "best loser" members appointed by the Supreme Court.

The president and vice-present is then elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term by the parliament. On a regional level, the country has village & district council, and municipal elections every 6 years.

Mauritius has a multi-party system which is mainly dominated by three parties namely Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), the Labour Party and Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM).

Out of the 11 national elections, the MSM has won 5 (1983, 1987, 1991, 2000 and 2014), the Labour Party won 4 (1967, 1995, 2005 and 2010) and the MMM won 2 (1976 and 1982).

Introduction

Main Political Parties (chronological order)

Elections

1967 Election

In the 1967 General Election, an alliance known as the Independence Party consisting of the Labour Party (Parti Travailliste — PTR), Independent Forward Blok (IFB) and Comité d'Action Musulman (CAM) won the election, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) became the first Prime Minister of Mauritius. The Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD) became the opposition party.[1][2]

1976 Election

In the 1976 General Election, the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) won most of the seats, however a coalition government was formed by the Independence Party (consisted of the Labour Party and Comité d'Action Musulman) and the PMSD. SSR remained in office. The MMM became the opposition party.[1]

1982 Election

In the 1982 General Election, an alliance consisting of the MMM and the Parti Socialiste Mauricien (PSM) won the election, Sir Anerood Jugnauth (SAJ) became Prime Minister, Harish Boodhoo became Deputy Prime Minister and Paul Bérenger became Minister of Finance. The PMSD became the opposition party.[1]

1983 Election

The alliance break up in 1983 and the 1983 General Election was held. A new alliance consisting of the PTR, the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM) and the PMSD won the election, SAJ became Prime Minister again. The MMM became the opposition party.[1]

1987 Election

In the 1987 General Election, an alliance known as Alliance consisting of the PTR, the MSM and the PMSD won the election, SAJ remained Prime Minister. The MMM remained the opposition party.[1]

1991 Election

In the 1991 General Election, an alliance consisting of the MMM and MSM was established again and won the election, SAJ remained Prime Minister. The new leader of the PTR Dr. Navin Ramgoolam, became the Leader of the Opposition. The PTR became the opposition party.[1]

Republic of Mauritius

On 12 March 1992 Mauritius became a Republic State, with a new constitution in 1992, the terms of the General Elections was regulated to 5 years. Since then, each 5 years elections takes place and a new Prime Minister is elected.

1995 Election

In the 1995 General Election an alliance consisting of the PTR and MMM won the election, Dr. Navin Ramgoolam became Prime Minister of Mauritius. The PMSD became the opposition party.[1]

2000 Election

In the 2000 General Election an alliance MMM-MSM was formed and won the election, the PTR became the opposition party. The alliance of the MMM-MSM made an agreement, SAJ resigned as Prime Minister after 3 years to allow the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Paul Bérenger to take over. Paul Bérenger became the first non-Hindu Prime Minister of Mauritius. SAJ was nominated as President of Mauritius by the National Assembly. The son of SAJ, Pravind Jugnauth was then elected as Deputy Prime Minister, SAJ also left the reins of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant to his son.[3][4]

2005 Election

In the 2005 General Election an alliance known as Alliance Sociale was formed, it consisted of the PTR, the Parti Mauricien Xavier-Luc Duval (PMXD), Les Verts Fraternels, the Mouvement Républicain and Mouvement Militant Socialiste Mauricien (MMSM). Another alliance was the MMM-MSM which included the MMM, the MSM and the PMSD. The Alliance Sociale won the election and Dr. Navin Ramgoolam became Prime Minister of Mauritius.

 Summary of the 3 July 2005 National Assembly of Mauritius election results
Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Additional seats total seats
Alliance Sociale: 948,766 48.8 38 4 42
Alliance MSM-MMM 829,460 42.6 22 2 24
Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais (OPR) 10,184 0.8 2 2 4
All others 156,538 8.0
Total (Turnout 81.5 %) 1,944,948 100.0 62 8 70
Source: Adam Carr

In 2009, the PMSD merged with the PMXD, the new party retained the name PMSD, Xavier-Luc Duval became leader of the new party and Maurice Allet became President.

2010 Election

For the 2010 General Election, two alliances were formed before the election, the Alliance de L'Avenir consisting of the PTR, the PMSD and the MSM. The other alliance was the Alliance du Coeur which consisted of the MMM, the Union Nationale and the Mouvement Mauricien Socialiste Démocrate (MMSD). The Alliance de L'Avenir won the election, Dr. Navin Ramgoolam remained the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

 Summary of the 5 May 2010 National Assembly of Mauritius election results
Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Additional seats Total seats
Alliance de L'Avenir (PTR-PMSD-MSM) 1,001,903 49.69 41 4 45
Alliance du Coeur (MMM-UN-MMSD) 847,095 42.01 18 2 20
Front Solidarité Mauricien (FSM) 51,161 2.54 1 1
Mouvement Rodriguais (MR) 20,933 1.04 2 2
Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais (OPR) 18,815 0.93 1 1
Total (Turnout ~78%) 2,016,427 96.21 62 7 69
Source: electoral.gov.mu

2014 Election

Against all odds, l'Alliance Lepep has won the 2014 elections, with 47 seats, against 13 for the Labour Party / MMM alliance. No one predicted that l'alliance Lepep would win these elections, leave alone winning over 75% of seats in the National Assembly.

The politician who stands out to lose the most from these elections is Paul Bérenger, declared candidate for the premiership, who nearly lost his own seat. It is believed that the majority Hindu population of Mauritius, is not willing to accept a non-Hindu such as Bérenger becoming Prime Minister. As usual, after getting defeated, Paul Bérenger made no comment to the press, as opposed to the other leaders. As usual, after getting defeated, Paul Bérenger made no comment to the press.

Navin Ramgoolam, a seasoned politician who has served as Prime Minister for almost 15 years, did not even get elected this time. This is largely due to the anti-incumbency factor.

Summary of the 10 December 2014 National Assembly of Mauritius election results

Party Votes % Seats
Elected Top-up Total
Alliance Lepep (MSMPMSDML)[lower-alpha 1]1,016,55149.8347451
PTR/MMM[lower-alpha 2]785,64538.5113316
Mauritian Solidarity Front41,8152.05000
Rezistans ek Alternativ23,1171.13000
Rodrigues People's Organisation21,8741.07202
Mauritian Social Democratic Movement19,3380.95000
Lalit11,5500.57000
Rodrigues Movement11,1130.54000
Agreement for Parliamentary Democracy10,5480.52000
Les Verts Fraternels10,1910.50000
Independents26,5161.30000
Total2,039,97210062769
Source: Electoral Commission
  1. Of the 47 elected Lepep seats, 33 were won by the MSM, 7 by the PMSD and 7 by the ML. All four top-up seats were taken by the PMSD
  2. Of the 13 elected PTR/MMM seats, 9 were won b the MMM and four by the PTR. All three top-up seats were taken by the MMM.

See also

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p618 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  2. "Mauritius". Worldsstatesmen.org. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  3. "Ethnic handover in Mauritius". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  4. "Mauritius PM keeps it in family". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
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