a million voters called to vote, results expected Monday

Mauritians voted on Sunday November 10 during suspenseful legislative elections, against a backdrop of economic and democratic concerns in the Indian Ocean archipelago seen as a model of stability and prosperity on the African continent. In this country, considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa, the opposition nevertheless feared a risk of fraud.

In this republic, which has only known three families at the head of its government since its independence in 1968, the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, hopes to exercise a new mandate of five years at the end of this election, which ad undecided.

He presents himself there with the conclusion of an agreement at the beginning of October “historical” between Mauritius and London on the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago, seen as a major success for the Mauritian government after more than half a century of dispute.

But a wiretapping scandal quickly tainted his campaign after extracts of telephone conversations between politicians, members of civil society, diplomats and journalists leaked on social networks in October. In response, the authorities announced on 1^is November the blocking of social networks until the day after the election, before changing its mind in the face of the wrath of the opposition.

One million voters

Two main blocs clashed: the alliance led by the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) of Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, 62, and the Alliance of Change led by Navin Ramgoolam, leader of the Labor Party aged 77.

After information disseminated by the press citing fears of fraud, police officers were deployed to the polling stations. Mr. Ramgoolam had called for vigilance, but later assured that the vote had taken place without incident. “We are heading towards a big victory tomorrow [lundi]. The people are waiting for this liberation”he declared. “We are confident of victory, because the people appreciate our record”also assured his opponent, Mr. Jugnauth.

The two men also confronted an alliance which presents itself as an alternative with the slogan « Neither Navin nor Pravind » and criticizes corruption and nepotism in the archipelago. A total of 891 candidates are in the running. Of these, 62 will be elected deputies at the end of the ballot. Eight seats are allocated by the electoral monitoring commission to ensure balance in community representation.

Around a million voters were registered for these twelfth legislative elections in the history of the republic, where the leader of the alliance which obtains the majority becomes prime minister. The participation rate was 70% at 5 p.m. (local time, 3 p.m. in Paris), an hour before the closing of polling stations, commented the electoral commission, which did not give a comparison with the 2019 vote The results are expected on Monday.

Completion of “decolonization”

Last month, Mauritius, which is predominantly Hindu but has significant Christian and Muslim minorities, fell from first to second place in the Ibrahim Index, which assesses governance on the African continent. GDP growth was 7% in 2023.

The alliance led by Pravind Jugnauth won the 2019 legislative elections, obtaining 42 seats out of 70 in the National Assembly. This electoral victory established the legitimacy of the man who succeeded his father, Anerood Jugnauth, in 2017.

Navin Ramgoolam, former prime minister (1995-2000 and 2005-2014), is the son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who led the former British colony to independence before becoming its first head of government.

Mauritius concluded an agreement with the United Kingdom on the Chagos Archipelago in October, hailed by Mr. Jugnauth as the completion of the “decolonization”. The text provides, however, that “for an initial period of ninety-nine years”, London will be “authorized to exercise sovereign rights” on the American military base located there. Mauritius has claimed sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago since its acquisition in 1965 by London, which expelled the inhabitants to install the base there.