Mauritian general election, 2000
Encyclopedia
The 2000 Mauritian general elections took place on 11 September 2000 for the National Assembly of Mauritius
with the votes counted on 12 September 2000.
The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement
(MMM) party decisively won the elections in coalition with the Militant Socialist Movement
(MSM) defeating the governing Mauritian Labour Party
(MLP) led coalition.They formed together the MSM/MMM
As a result in a pre-election deal Anerood Jugnauth
of the Militant Socialist Movement
became Prime Minister of Mauritius
before handing over to Paul Bérenger
of the Mauritian Militant Movement
in 2003; Bérenger would become the first non-Hindu
Prime Minister of Mauritius.
had governed Mauritius since winning the 1995 election. A new election had to be held by December 2000 and Ramgoolam dissolved parliament to call the election on the 11 August 2000. He expected to be able to win the election in a three way contest with the Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties splitting the opposition vote between them. However ten days after the election was called the two main opposition parties agreed a deal.
The MSM led by Anerood Jugnauth and MMM led by Paul Bérenger agreed that if they won the election Anerood Jugnauth would become Prime Minister. They agreed that after 3 years he would step down as Prime Minister to become the President of Mauritius with enhanced powers and Bérenger would become Prime Minister, the first non-Hindu to do so.
. Each voter was required to vote for three candidates. Once these 62 MPs have been decided the Supervisory Electoral Commission chose the eight 'best losers' to prevent any ethnic community or political party from being underrepresented. The Commission chose four MPs to balance the ethnic groups (Hindus, Muslims, Chinese
and general population) and another four to balance the political parties. The 'best losers' could only come from candidates who came fourth in the 20 mainland constituencies.
The campaign was peaceful and election day was quiet with the sale or serving of alcohol banned for two days during the election to prevent trouble. Observers from the Southern African Development Community
praised the election for its efficient and fair conduct and the high turnout. The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties won a decisive victory almost wiping out the governing party and the Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam admitted defeat the day after the election. Gender activists were disappointed with the results which saw only four seats won by women, a decline on the previous election
in 1995.
National Assembly of Mauritius
The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral parliament, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic...
with the votes counted on 12 September 2000.
The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
(MMM) party decisively won the elections in coalition with the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
(MSM) defeating the governing Mauritian Labour Party
Mauritian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a political party in Mauritius.The Mauritian Labour Party was structured in 1936 to model the British Labour Party and has similar socialist goals...
(MLP) led coalition.They formed together the MSM/MMM
MSM/MMM
The Militant Socialist Movement/Mauritian Militant Movement was a coalition party that formed the government of the Republic of Mauritius from September 2000 to July 2005.The coalition was known as the "Medpoint Deal" and was formed by former Prime Minister and actual President Sir Anerood...
As a result in a pre-election deal Anerood Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
of the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
became Prime Minister of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
before handing over to Paul Bérenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
of the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
in 2003; Bérenger would become the first non-Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Prime Minister of Mauritius.
Background
The Mauritian Labour Party led by Navin RamgoolamNavin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
had governed Mauritius since winning the 1995 election. A new election had to be held by December 2000 and Ramgoolam dissolved parliament to call the election on the 11 August 2000. He expected to be able to win the election in a three way contest with the Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties splitting the opposition vote between them. However ten days after the election was called the two main opposition parties agreed a deal.
The MSM led by Anerood Jugnauth and MMM led by Paul Bérenger agreed that if they won the election Anerood Jugnauth would become Prime Minister. They agreed that after 3 years he would step down as Prime Minister to become the President of Mauritius with enhanced powers and Bérenger would become Prime Minister, the first non-Hindu to do so.
Election rules
The election was conducted under the first past the post system with three Members of parliament being elected from each of 20 mainland constituencies. A further two MPs were elected from the island of RodriguesRodrigues (island)
Rodrigues , sometimes spelled Rodriguez but named after the Portuguese explorer Diogo Rodrigues, is the smallest of the Mascarene Islands and a dependency of Mauritius...
. Each voter was required to vote for three candidates. Once these 62 MPs have been decided the Supervisory Electoral Commission chose the eight 'best losers' to prevent any ethnic community or political party from being underrepresented. The Commission chose four MPs to balance the ethnic groups (Hindus, Muslims, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and general population) and another four to balance the political parties. The 'best losers' could only come from candidates who came fourth in the 20 mainland constituencies.
Campaign
Altogther 43 parties put forward 535 candidates but the main contest was always between the two main coalitions. Both alliances campaigned on similar platforms with the economy being the main election issue. The governing Mauritian Labour Party promised to raise civil servants' wages and reduce the prices of drinks while the main opposition attacked corruption. Both the main government and opposition parties pledged to create 70,000 jobs.The campaign was peaceful and election day was quiet with the sale or serving of alcohol banned for two days during the election to prevent trouble. Observers from the Southern African Development Community
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...
praised the election for its efficient and fair conduct and the high turnout. The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties won a decisive victory almost wiping out the governing party and the Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam admitted defeat the day after the election. Gender activists were disappointed with the results which saw only four seats won by women, a decline on the previous election
Mauritian general election, 1995
General elections were held in Mauritius on 20 December 1995. The result was a victory for the Labour Party-Mauritian Militant Movement alliance, which won all 60 constituency seats on Mauritius....
in 1995.
Constituency winners
| Constituency | Elected MPs | Party Alliance | Religion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BARBIER, Jean Claude NAVARRE-MARIE, Marie Arianne ARMANCE, Jean- Claude Louis Desiré |
MSM/MMM | Christians |
| 2 | LEUNG SHING, Emmanuel Jean BEEBEEJAUN, Ahmed Rashid MAUDARBOCUS, Sahid |
MSM/MMM Labour Party-PMXD MSM/MMM |
Chinese Muslim Muslim |
| 3 | LAUTHAN, Samioullah CHADY, Mohummud Siddick NANHUCK, Mohammad |
MSM/MMM Labor Party-PMXD MSM/MMM |
Muslim |
| 4 | CHUMROO, Meckduth GRIVON, Gérard Clifford LESJONGARD, Georges Pierre |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Christian |
| 5 | Navin Ramgoolam JHURRY, Jyaneshwur HURNAM, Devendranath |
Labor Party-PMXD MSM/MMM MSM/MSM |
Hindu |
| 6 | JEEHA, Deelchand, GUNGAH, Ashit Kumar DULLOO, Madan Murlidhar |
MSM/MMM MSM/MMM Labor-PMXD |
Hindu |
| 7 | Sir Anerood Jugnauth HOOKOOM, Balkissoon MEENOWA, Jai Prakash |
MSM/MMM Labor Party-PMXD MSM/MMM |
Hindu |
| 8 | RAMLOLL, Parmessur Ashok Jugnauth Ashok Jugnauth Ashok Kumar Jugnauth is former Mauritian Member of Parliament and was the Minister of Health of Mauritius from 2000 to 2005 serving in the cabinet of Anerood Jugnauth from 2000 to 2003 and Paul Berenger from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded to pull off the Political career in Mauritius as he forms part... NAGALINGUM, Darmarajen |
MSM/MMM | Hindu |
| 9 | BACHOO, Anil Kumar FOWDAR, Sangeet KOONJOO, Premdut |
MSM/MMM | Hindu |
| 10 | CHOONEE, Mookhesswur GUNNESS, Govindranath DAUREEAWOO, Rashad |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Hindu Muslim |
| 11 | Pravind Jugnauth Pravind Jugnauth Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in... BOOLELL, Arvin BHOWON, Rajayswur |
MSM/MMM Labor Party-PMXD MSM/MMM |
Hindu |
| 12 | GAYAN, Anil Kumarsingh ROOPUN, Dharmaveersing COLLENDAVELLOO, Ivan Leslie |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Hindu Christian |
| 13 | AUMEER, Hurreeprem ISSIMDAR, Abdool Nasser BALOOMOODY, Vedasingam Vasudevachariar |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Muslims Hindu |
| 14 | GANOO, Alan ARUNASALON, José ROOPUN, Prithvirajsing, |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Christian Hindu |
| 15 | DOOKUN LUCHOOMUN, Leela Devi OBEEGADOO, Louis Steven SOODHUN, Showkutally |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Christian Muslim |
| 16 | BODHA, Nandcoomar SAKARAM, Sewram MICHEL, Louis Sylvio |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Hindu Christian |
| 17 | GUIMBEAU, Eric Joseph Raoul PAYA, Marie José Gerard DOWARKASING, Mokshanand |
MSM/MMM | Christian Hindu |
| 18 | KHUSHIRAM, Khushhal Chand, AUROOMOOGA PUTTEN, Prithviraj, PERRIER, Anne-Marie Danielle |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Christian |
| 19 | Paul Berenger Paul Bérenger Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu.... CUTTAREE, Jaya Krishna ABDOOLA, Mohamed Feroz |
MSM/MMM | Christian Hindu Muslim |
| 20 | BHAGWAN, Rajesh Anand LABELLE, Marie Noëlle Françoise ALLET, Daniel Jean Maurice |
MSM/MMM | Hindu Christian |