Political system
Short for MU by Abbreviationfinder, Mauritius is a republic and has a president as head of state. The legislative power lies with Parliament, while the Prime Minister and his government have the executive power. Mauritius has a well-functioning multi-party system. The political parties rarely get their own majority, which is why the government usually switches between different fragile coalition governments.
The President has mainly ceremonial duties and is elected every five years by a simple majority of the Parliament (National Assembly). The President formally appoints the Prime Minister, who is always the leader of the party or party alliance that has control over the majority of seats in the National Assembly. The other members of the government are also formally appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
- Countryaah: Total population and chart of Mauritius for years of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Also covers population density, birth rate, death rate and population growth rates.
The Prime Minister leads the government and is responsible for the National Assembly. However, the president has the right to form a new government with members of the National Assembly if the incumbent government falls into a vote of no confidence.
Laws are passed by the National Assembly, which has a chamber of members appointed in general elections every five years. The Chamber consists of the President, 62 elected members, the Chancellor of Justice and up to eight additional members who are appointed to guarantee all ethnic groups representation.
The island of Rodrigues has its own government and its own regional parliament. Rodrigues also has two representatives in the National Assembly.
A proposal for a new electoral reform was presented in the fall of 2018, but the National Assembly has not yet decided on it (see Calendar).
Local elections are held in municipalities and local districts every five years.
Political parties
Since political parties in Mauritius rarely get their own majority in the National Assembly, the government usually switches between different coalitions that are often difficult to hold together due to personal contradictions between leading politicians. Government periods are therefore often relatively short.
Three parties dominate the policy: Mauritius Labor Party (Mauritius Labor Party, MLP), Militant Socialist Movement (Mouvement Socialist militant, MSM) and Mauritius Militant Movement (Mouvement Militant Mauritius, MMM). Of the eleven elections held since the year before independence in 1968, MSM has won five, MLP four and MMM two. However, several other parties have been part of various government coalitions over the years. The parties represent different groups of people rather than ideologies. MLP has its support mainly among Hindus, MSM among Hindus, Chinese and French Mauritians and MMM has its voter base among Muslims.
MLP was formed in 1936 and is the oldest party in the country. It has, alone or in a coalition government for several periods since 1947. In the 2005 elections, got the MLP in government with the support of several smaller parties and after the 2010 election, the party could rule on the Future of the Alliance (Alliance de l’Avenir), where even the MSM and the Mauritian Social Democratic party (Party Mauricien Social-Democrat, PMSD) was included. However, the MLP ended up in opposition after the 2014 election, when the Folkalliance (Alliance Lepep), between the MSM, PMSD and the Liberation Movement (Muvman Liberater, ML, which broke out of the MMM), won big.
The Socialist MMM was formed in 1969 and is strongly associated with its founder and leader, Paul Bérenger, who was prime minister in 2003-2005. MSM was founded in 1983 as a spin-off from MMM. It was long dominated by Anerood Jugnauth, who was prime minister in 1982–1995 and 2000–2003, and 2014–2017. In 2003–2014, Jugnauth was the country’s president. MSM and MMM have often collaborated, most recently in 2012–2014. In 2017, the party leader post was taken over by Anerood Jugnauth’s son Pravind, who was also appointed new Prime Minister. In the 2019 election, MSM won its own majority in parliament.
PMSD was founded in 1995 and was a strong political force until 1982, when it began to lose in influence. However, the party made strong progress in the 2014 elections.
Two other important parties are the National Union (Union nationale, UN) and the Socialist Democratic Movement (Mouvement socialiste démocrate, MSD), both of which are breakaway parties from the MSM. The Rodrigues people (Organization du Peuple Rodriguais, OPR) represents the residents of the island of Rodrigues and has two seats in the National Assembly.
2006
June
Trade agreements are concluded
Mauritius and India enter into a bilateral trade agreement.
Economic reforms begin
The government is embarking on major economic reforms, including tax cuts and privatizations, in an effort to lift the country’s poor economy.
May
Moving people is doomed
The High Court in the United Kingdom (High Court) ruled that the British government was wrong in not allowing 1,600 people who had moved from the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in connection with the construction of a US military base there to recover their former homes.
April
Former islanders return
About a hundred former residents of the Chagos Islands, claimed by Mauritius, make a return visit to the islands from which they were moved by the British nearly 40 years ago. They were forced to relocate to make way for a US military base on the island of Diego Garcia. A legal dispute is ongoing about these people’s right to return to the Chagos Islands.
Collaboration ends – new party is formed
The co-operation between MMM and MSM ends. Defenders from MSM form the new National Union (UN).