General election in Mauritius 2010

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The parliamentary elections in Mauritius 2010 were held on May 5, 2010 in the island state of Mauritius . A coalition made up of the Parti Travailliste (Workers' Party) under Navin Ramgoolam , Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (Socialist Mauritian Movement) under Pravind Jugnauth and Parti Mauricien Social-Démocrate (Mauritian Social-Démocrate (Mauritian Social Democratic Party) under Xavier Duval won a majority of 41 seats in parliament. A coalition led by the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (Militant Mauritian Movement) led by Paul Bérenger came second with 18 seats. The Front Solidarité Mauricienne (Solidarity Mauritian Front) won one seat and the Mouvement Rodriguais ( Rodriguan Movement) the remaining two seats. It was the ninth parliamentary elections in Mauritius since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1968. The result did not mean any fundamental change in the political situation in Mauritius compared to the 2005 election results.

Coalitions and groupings

The Mauritius Labor Party, the Mauritian Social Democrat Party (PMSD) and the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) had jointly formed an alliance for these elections called the Alliance de L'avenir (Alliance for the Future). A total of 62 seats were to be won. Ramgoolam, the leader of the alliance, had allotted 35 seats - based on 60 seats - for the seat ratio within the coalition parties before the election of his own party, while the MSM had 18 and the PMSD 7. Before the election it looked as if Berenger could regain the post of prime minister, which he already held once from 2003 to 2005. He was then the first prime minister since independence who was not of Southeast Asian origin. Berenger led his own coalition of parties known as the Alliance du Coeur (Alliance of the Heart), a reference to the official logo of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien, by far the largest party in the Alliance. Parties based on the second largest island of Mauritius, Rodrigues , sought the other two. The largest parties there are Organization du Peuple Rodriguais (Organization of the Rodrigues People) and the Mouvement Rodriguais (Rodrigues Movement).

Requirements for a candidacy and the course of the elections

62 seats in the National Assembly were chosen by election, another 8 were chosen by the electoral commission according to a sophisticated system that is supposed to maintain the balance of the different ethnic groups of the islands. Candidates must explain which ethnic group ( Hindu , Muslim , Chinese or "general population") they belong to in order to apply for a seat. In 2010, 104 candidates refused to do so, with the result that they were disqualified. 529 candidates remained. About 130 foreign observers, including some from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community , were present to accompany the election process. About 900,000 were eligible to vote. The vote count began on May 6th. The turnout was around 78%, compared to 81.5% in the 2005 election, the lowest turnout since 1976. The electoral commission described the electoral process as proper and no complaints were filed with the commission.

Berenguer's allegations

The elections were marked by an allegation by Paul Berenger that the current government had abused state television, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation , to influence voters. Against the background that he himself is part of the Franco-Mauritian minority, he accused his political competitors of "communalism", i.e. the tendency to only address individual (ethnic) groups in society in order to get their votes. The main issues dominating the election campaign were the economy and constitutional reform , fraud, corruption , drug trafficking and ethnic division.

Paul Berenger recognized Allianz's future victory with 49.31%, but maintained the charge that the elections were not free and fair. His defeat is u. a. owed to the bias of reporting on state television, "communalism", the electoral system and the better financial resources of its political opponents. He agreed, however, to work with the government on reforming the electoral system, which had resulted in his alliance receiving only 18 out of 62 seats despite 43% of the vote.

The “best-loser system”: allocation of the additional seats

On May 7th, the electoral commission decided according to what is known as the “best-loser system”, according to the information provided by the unelected candidates about their religious and ethnic affiliation, and who should take the additional eight seats in the National Assembly. Unusually, however, only 7 candidates were appointed instead of 8. In accordance with the usual procedure, four "best-loser" seats were given to candidates who, although not elected, had the highest number of votes in their political party. At the same time they had to have the "right" religion or ethnicity in order to maintain the balance within parliament in this regard. 4 more seats were then awarded in such a way that the result of the election was not changed. The "Alliance of the Future" received four seats, while the "Alliance of the Heart" was awarded two additional seats. While the electoral commission had no problem awarding a seat to a candidate from the Organization du Peuple Rodriguais , they had difficulty awarding the 8th seat, which usually went to a representative of the Sino- Mauritian minority from one of the remaining two parties. However, since neither the Front Solidarité Mauricienne nor the Mouvement Rodriguais party had nominated a candidate from this ethnic group, the eighth place remained vacant.

African Union observers came to contradicting assessments as to whether the "best-loser system" strengthens national cohesion or not. They rated the elections as "free and fair" overall.

Results

45
20th
2
1
1
45 20th 2 1 1 
A total of 69 seats
  • Alliance of the future : 45
  • Alliance of the Heart : 20
  • Rodrigues Movement : 2
  • Solidarity Mauritian Front : 1
  • Organization of the Rodrigues people : 1
Parties and alliances be right % Seats Additional seats Total seats
Alliance de L'Avenir ( Alliance of the Future ) 1 001 903 49.69 41 4th 45
Alliance du Coeur ( Alliance of the Heart ) 847 095 42.01 18th 2 20th
Front Solidarité Mauricienne ( Solidarity Mauritian Front ) 51 161 2.54 1 - 1
Mouvement Rodriguais ( Movement of Rodrigues ) 20 933 1.04 2 - 2
Organization du Peuple Rodriguais ( Organization of the People of Rodrigues ) 18 815 0.93 - 1 1
Total (turnout ~ 78%) 2,016,427 100.00 62 7th 69
Source: gov.mu , gov.mu

Of the 62 seats, 10 went to women:

For the elected MPs, see the list of members of the National Assembly of Mauritius (2010-2014) .

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  1. ^ Mauritius PM dissolves parliament - People's Daily Online . English.people.com.cn. April 1, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c d Navin Ramgoolam remporte les élections générales , Le Défi Media Group. May 6, 2010. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. 
  3. ↑ a b c d Ethnicity key factor in Mauritius vote , Times Live. May 4, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Kurt Avish: Mauritius General Election 2010 . Iceland Crisis. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ L'alliance bleu-blanc-rouge conclue: 35 tickets au Ptr, 18 au MSM et 7 au PMSD , Le Défi Media Group. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved on May 6, 2010. 
  6. ↑ Parliamentary elections could bring about a change of power (German) , Der Standard. May 4, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  7. ↑ a b c Mauritius's Ramgoolam Leads Elections With 30% of Vote Counted , Bloomberg. May 6, 2010. 
  8. ↑ a b c Count begins in Mauritius poll , AFP. May 6, 2010. 
  9. ^ Couverture politique par la MBC: Bérenger veut interpeller la Commission électorale , L'express. April 22, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  10. ^ Paul Bérenger: "Le MMM est anti communalisme" , Le Matinal. April 28, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  11. ↑ Mauritius votes for new prime minister , BBC. May 5, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  12. ↑ a b Bérenger prêt à coopérer avec le government pour une "bonne" reforme électorale , L'express. May 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. 
  13. ^ A b c Sept députés correctifs au lieu de huit nommés par la Commission Electorale , L'express. May 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved on May 8, 2010. 
  14. ↑ a b Les observateurs de l'UA estiment que le 'Best loser system' pourrait poserproblemème " , L'express. May 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011.