GOVERNMENT
Mauritian politics are vibrant and characterized by coalition and alliance building. All parties are centrist and reflect a national consensus that supports democratic politics and a relatively open economy with a strong private sector. Parliamentary elections were held July 3, 2005.
Alone or in coalition, the Mauritian Labor Party (MLP) ruled from 1947 through
1982 and returned to power in 1995. The Mauritian Militant Movement/Mauritian
Socialist Party (MMM/PSM) alliance won the 1982 election. In 1983, defectors
from the MMM joined with the PSM to form the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM)
and won a working majority. In July 1990, the MSM realigned with the MMM, and in
September 1991, national elections won 59 of the 62 directly elected seats in
parliament. In December 1995, the MLP returned to power, this time in coalition
with the MMM. Labor's Navinchandra Ramgoolam, son of the country's first prime
minister, became prime minister himself. Ramgoolam dismissed his MMM coalition
partners in mid-1997, leaving Labor in power except for several small parties
allied with it. Elections in September 2000 saw the re-emergence of the MSM-MMM
as a winning alliance, as the coalition garnered 51.7% of the vote, and Sir
Anerood Jugnauth once again became the prime minister with the caveat that
mid-term, the leader of the MMM party would take over as prime minister. In
September 2003, in keeping with the campaign promise which forged the coalition,
Jugnauth stepped down from office and deputy prime minister Paul Raymond
Berenger became prime minister. One month later, Sir Anerood Jugnauth was sworn
in as President of the Republic. Berenger became the first Catholic,
Franco-Mauritian to head the government. The move created an historic precedent
of having a non-Hindu, non-majority member head the national government. The
2005 parliamentary elections returned Navinchandra Ramgoolam to office as prime
minister.
. Mauritius became a republic on March 12, 1992. The most immediate result was that a Mauritian-born president became head of state, replacing Queen Elizabeth II. Under the amended constitution, political power remained with parliament. The Council of Ministers (cabinet), responsible for the direction and control of the government, consists of the prime minister (head of government), the leader of the majority party in the legislature, and about 20 ministries.
The unicameral National Assembly has up to 70 deputies. Sixty-two are elected by
universal suffrage, and as many as eight "best losers" are chosen from the runners-up by the Electoral Supervisory Commission using a formula designed to give at least minimal representation to all ethnic communities and under-represented parties. Elections are scheduled at least every 5 years.
Mauritian law is an amalgam of French and British legal traditions. The Supreme Court--a chief justice and five other judges--is the highest judicial authority. There is an additional right of appeal to the Queen's Privy Council. Local government has nine administrative divisions, with municipal and town councils in urban areas and district and village councils in rural areas. The island of Rodrigues forms the country's 10th administrative division.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Sir Anerood Jugnauth
Vice President--Raouf Bundhun
Prime Minister--Navinchandra Ramgoolam
Ambassador to the United States--Keertee Coomar (Kailash) Ruhee
Ambassador to the United Nations--Somduth Soboron
Mauritius
maintains an embassy at 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008, (tel. 202-244-1491)
Type: Republic.
Independence: March 12, 1968 (became a republic in 1992).
Constitution: March 12, 1968.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), Council of Ministers. Legislative--unicameral National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 10.
Major political parties: MSM (Militant Socialist Movement), MMM (Mauritian Militant Movement) and the Social Alliance (made up of several parties, including the Mauritian Labor Party).
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Defense (2006): 1.7% of GDP.
