Mauritius Opposition to Re-enter Government as Prime Minister Concedes Defeat
Opposition Labour Party leader Navin Ramgoolam had previously served as the country’s prime minister on two occasions.
Mauritian opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam is set to return to the office of Prime Minister, as incumbent Pravind Jugnauth concedes defeat. Official results of the November 10 elections are expected for Tuesday, however, Jugnauth told the press that his political bloc “is heading towards a huge defeat.”
The opposition coalition, Alliance for Change, is expected to win the parliamentary majority, which will bring Labour Party leader Ramgoolam back into executive power. Ramgoolam was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014 and is the son of Mauritius’ first prime minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who served as prime minister from 1982 to 1995 and 2000 to 2005, led the Militant Socialist Movement to a resounding victory in 2014, before his son, the current prime minister, took over three years later and won re-election in 2019.
Considered one of the better democracies in Africa, elections in Mauritius are largely deemed to be free and fair, with a peaceful handover of power between opposition parties. Voter turnout at Sunday’s polls was about 80 percent of the 1 million registered voters.
Two weeks before the elections, Jugnauth’s government imposed a social media blackout, citing a national security threat. The blackout came on the back of a wiretapping scandal, where several audio recordings of alleged conversations between high-level officials leaked to social media. The wiretapping scandal overshadowed a historic, but controversial deal between Mauritius and the U.K. for the former to regain sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. In the recording that garnered the most attention, the country’s police commissioner allegedly asks a forensic doctor to alter the autopsy report of a person who died in police custody.
The leaked tapes reportedly include over 20 conversations between political figures and journalists, including some calls featuring British High Commissioner Charlotte Pierre. After initially dismissing the leaks as AI-generated, Jugnauth’s office then imposed a ban on social media, saying there was “a real risk that the national security and integrity of our Republic and our international partners may have been compromised.”
However, after outrage from opposition and the general public, the ban was lifted within 24 hours. The social media ban seems to have played a role in the election, as Jugnauth’s government had been accused of not upholding Mauritius’ strong democratic values.
“In the last five years, the institutions that were ensuring checks and balances have not been functioning and corruption has increased,” democracy researcher Roukaya Kasenallytold RFI. “After independence, we developed this democratic success story and 'Mauritian miracle' economy, and never thought we were going to backslide,” Kasenally added, stating that Jugnauth’s government harassed opposition parties and used the police against its opponents.
Over the course of 2024, 20 African countries will be holding elections. For more election coverage, check out our Election Tracker.