Voters in the Republic of Mauritius went to the polls earlier this
week to vote in the tenth General Elections following independence in 1968.
There was a lot at stake. The governing Labour Party led by Dr
Navin Ramgoolam sought to become only the third Prime Minister of Mauritius to
secure three consecutive election victories, something first achieved by his
father almost forty years earlier. More significantly, huge
constitutional changes were on the table which potentially would have led to
the creation of a second Republic.
Mauritius has had a President since becoming a Republic in March
1992, a role which had largely been ceremonial and was a position appointed by
the serving Prime Minister. In many ways it was a role like a Monarch in
many other countries, with duties confined to receiving guests and
dignitaries during official State visits. Ramgoolam proposed fundamental
changes to the role which would have included more powers, immunity from
prosecution and critically would have resulted in the President being directly elected
by the Mauritian electorate with a seven-year term of office.
Opinion polls and most people on the island that I had spoken to
since my arrival at the end of November suggested that Ramgoolam was on course
to secure a comfortable victory. However, as results begun trickling
through on Thursday lunchtime, it was soon becoming apparent that a stunning
upset could be on the cards. One by one, declarations showed that an
Alliance led by Sir Anerood Jugnauth's Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) were securing
emphatic victories across Mauritius. By mid-afternoon it was clear that
Jugnauth would indeed be forming the next Government of Mauritius and that
ambitious changes to the Republic's constitution had been overwhelmingly
rejected by Mauritian voters. Jugnauth's Alliance had won 47 of the
Parliament's 60 seats- a landslide of earthquake proportions.
Yet an even bigger story was brewing, one that even two days after
the results were announced leaves most Mauritian's still scratching their heads
in disbelief. Late afternoon on Thursday, reports began emerging that
Ramgoolam was in danger of losing his Parliamentary Seat of Pamplemousses and
Triolet- one of the safest seats for the Labour Party in Mauritius.
Initially it appeared that Ramgoolam had hung on but by early evening it
was clear that the Prime Minister was in severe danger and facing a crisis of
monumental proportions. Confirmation finally arrived at dawn on Friday
that the defeated Prime Minister had lost his seat by almost 3,500 votes: a
huge margin.
I have attempted to relay the significance of the events to
friends and family back in the UK, highlighting the landslide of 1997 as being
comparable to the verdict of Mauritian voters this week. But even this
example does not truly illustrate the devastating nature of the result since
despite the Labour Party's huge 179 seat majority in the British Parliament,
they were never able to unseat the outgoing British Prime Minister John Major
who held on in Huntingdon. These are "safe seats" and it is
unthinkable that a Prime Minister can lose his own Parliamentary seat.
Astonishingly this is not the first time that such a dramatic
punitive act has been dished out by Mauritian voters. Back in 1982,
Jugnauth ended the political career of Ramgoolam's father, Sir Seewoosagur
Ramgoolam, with an unprecedented "whitewash" as the Government were
swept from power securing no seats in the new Parliament. The election is
referenced as the "60-0" and was the last time a Mauritian Prime
Minister was unceremoniously evicted from his own Parliamentary seat. The
irony has not been lost on many since the Ramgoolam family must collectively be
sick of the sight of Jugnauth due to this being the second time such a historic
outcome has been secured by a party led by him.
I have been disappointed that the news from Mauritius has not
received wider international media attention, with little reports on the events
so far. It is true that Mauritius is a relatively small nation, but this
was not a routine election and the ramifications of the week's events will be
felt for many years to come. Prior to publishing this post I checked the
BBC's website to establish if the story had finally made its African news
section. I am incredibly surprised to learn that some 48 hours later, the
story has still not been circulated on the platform.
As political earthquakes go, this is one of the biggest I have
ever experienced. I was too young to personally witness Ramgoolam Snr
losing his Parliamentary Seat. I did however watch live on BBC Television
as the outgoing Defence Minister Michael Portillo lost his seat at the 1997
British General Election. Up until now I would say it was the most
historical political event I had ever witnessed although for me personally, the
events of 48 hours ago eclipse that moment. Mauritius has decided and I
had a front-row seat to witness a very tropical earthquake. Watching the
declaration at Triolet will be something which will stay with me for the rest
of my life.
