Incumbents Lose All in Mauritius’ Sweeping Elections
PM Pravind Jugnauth lost the 2024 Mauritius Elections. (Flickr)
Mauritius held historic elections on November 10 that resulted in a landslide victory for the opposition party.
Mauritius, an island country off the eastern coast of Africa, has a “winner-take-all” electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes wins. In the 2019 election, the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won with only 37 percent of the vote. In the most recent election, the Alliance of Change (ADC) won with 63 percent of the vote while MSM received only 28 percent. Called a “60-0,” ADC won 60 out of 62 seats in parliament. Only two other times in the country’s history (1982 and 1995) has the incumbent party faced such a decisive loss.
The election played out amid economic struggles and political backlash. Between 2019 and 2022, inflation skyrocketed from 0.4 to 10.8 percent. While the Mauritius rupee has declined in value, the cost of living has only increased. Alongside economic woes, the Mauritian government has faced several major scandals. In 2020, an unknown agent deliberately sank the Wakashio, releasing toxic iron-ore, ballast water, and vessel waste into the local marine ecosystem. As a result, more than 39 dolphins and whales washed up dead on shore. Since then, MSM has cracked down on journalist and citizen rights to free speech, going so far as to ban social media before the election. Additionally, the loss of an independent judiciary and police accelerated the public’s loss of faith in the rule of law. Most recently, journalists released a recording of the prime minister (PM), top ministers, and police covering up the murder of a detainee.
PM Pravind Jugnauth conceded the election several days before it took place, recognizing his party’s unpopularity. In a closing statement to reporters, he said, “I have tried to do what I can for the country and the population. The population has decided to choose another team. I wish good luck to the country.”
The ADC party promises sweeping reforms, including increased pensions, welfare for vulnerable families, free public transport, affordable fuel, and the dismantlement of the “spying system.”
Ravin Ramgoolam takes Jugnauth’s place as PM. The son of independence leader Seewosagur Rangoolam, he has already served as PM for three terms, from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014. After being sworn into office, PM Rangoolam promised, “We will also work to put an end to the rising cost of living for the population by better monitoring the value of the rupee, lifting Value Added Tax from basic commodities, and vanquishing nepotism, corruption and repression.”
Mauritius is just one of the many countries that have seen historic, incumbent-toppling elections in 2024. Incumbents in Botswana, the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia, and the United States have all lost the people’s vote as inflation in their countries soars. However, even as economies struggle, citizens are choosing the candidates that respond to their interest. In Mauritius, nearly 80 percent of the population showed up to vote, proving that democracy is strong in the island country.