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THE PRE-INDEPENDENCE POLITICAL SYSTEM
When the first Council of Government under British rule was established in 1825, the Governor and his four officials had all the necessary powers to run
the colony. Between 1825 and 1948, a few amendments were made to the Constitution which gave increased representation of landed aristocracy and principal merchants of the island on the Council of Government. By 1933
two-thirds of the members of the Council were nominated non—official members who represented the economic elites of Mauritius. So one can rightly argue that during the first 140 years of British Colonial rule, any
constitutional reforms that were introduced were almost always in favour of the chief landowners and merchants of the country.
For the first time after the 1948 reforms, a Legislative Council was set up comprising of three officials, twelve nominees and nineteen elected members
representing the different communities in Mauritius. The Governor was President of the Council and had the final say on policy decisions. This form of political structure was not to the entire satisfaction of the
populace. Pressures built up in the political arena until universal suffrage was granted in 1958. A ministerial form of Parliamentary Government was introduced in Mauritius and gradually the Legislative Council
obtained greater powers. By 1963, Mauritius had a semi—autonomous government and under the new constitutional system introduced after Independence in 1968, Mauritius became a sovereign democratic state with a
one-chamber 70—member of Parliament and the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, as Head of State. The government machinery is derived mainly from the “Westminster model’ of government.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT SINCE INDEPENDENCE
The British colonial administrators, who favoured the minority FrancoMauritians, were against the development of party politics in Mauritius.
With the introduction of elections in 1948, the Mauritius Labour Party, (which essentially represented the Indo-Mauritian labourers) gained massive 1971
support in the late 1940s, and during the 1950s and 1960. As a reaction to this development other political groups were PMSD formed, notably the Ralliement Mauricien (later to become the Parti Mauricien Sociale
Democrate, PMSD) which represented the interests of the Franco- Mauritians. One cannot escape the fact that the development of new political rule. parties in Mauritius during the 1950s and 1960s were based mainly on
the idea of representing the different communities in the country. The Comite d’Action Musulman (CAM) was formed to represent the interests of Muslims MLP fo because the MLP was thought to be a Hindu party. The
Ralliement Mauricien abroad. (PMSD) had to change its image in 1966 in order to appeal to the Creoles. Coloured Creoles who are mainly catholics. The Independent Forward Bloc inside (IFB), a nationalist Hindu Party
was created in 1958 on the stance that the MLP is a disguised capitalist party.
For the purpose of the 1967 Independence Election, the MLP/IFB/CAM Alliance Election was formed as they all three advocated independence, while the PMSD was — two against
independence on the grounds that this would mean economic, social and Governi political disaster for Mauritius. The Alliance won the election and a National Coalition Government was formed. The Coalition
lasted up to March 1969, when the IFB, under the leadership of a strong radical, was the expelled. A new National Coalition Government was formed but this time, it included the very party which was bitterly
opposed to independence; a party which also represents the interests of the sugar barons. The representatives of the economic elites and those of the working class were joining forcepromote the national
interests.
The Grand National Coalition Government of 1969 created a political vacuumwhich was immediately filled in by the creation of the Movement MilitantMauricien (MMM). For the first
time in Mauritian political history, a partywas able to get support from all the different communities of the island;Hindu, Muslim and Creole youths. The MMM organised itself in the tradeunions and adopted the
Marxist—Leninist rhetoric. Following widespread strikes organised by the MMM, a state of emergency was declared in 1971; elections were postponed, and the MMM was temporarily banned.
The Coalition Government broke in December 1973 with the departure of the PMSD leader, but the MLP remained in power with the support of cross-bench
members of the PMSD and IFB. The MLP followed an essentially watered down version of the Fabian socialist approach to the economy during its nine—year rule.
The 1976 general election was a three-way fight among MLP, PMSD and MMM. The MLP fought the December election on the Government’s record at home and
abroad. The MMM was branded as a communist party which should be kept at bay. The PMSD relied on the creole votes and capitalised on the division inside the Hindu community over the caste issue.
The election results gave no party an absolute majority to form a new government. However, the MMM, which participated in a general Election for
the first time, emerged as the single largest party with 34 seats - two seats short for an absolute majority. But an MLP/PMSD Coalition Government was formed with a very shaky majority. During the 1977 to 1982
period, a group of MLP deputies crossed the bench to form the Parti Socialiste Mauricien (PSM); the PMSD was split into two: half of the deputies supported the government the other half went into opposition. The MLP
managed to cling to power by relying on the support of the cross-benches from the MMM. It is not unusual in Mauritian politics for politicians of any colour to change their political affiliation on a number of
occasions during a very short time period, in such a way as to maximise.their self-interests. This phenomenon has become so common that “political morality” is a meaningless term in the Mauritian context. All the
political parties seem to have become devoid of any consistent form of political ideology. This was increasingly true for the last five general elections.
The break-away PSM party joined force with the MMM to fight the MLP and its political associates on one hand, and the PSMD on the other hand during the
1982 election. The election results came out as a shock to the Mauritian populace. The MMM/PSM Alliance won alJ. the elected seats. The country was left without an elected opposition (apart from the “4 best—loser”
seats allocated to MLP and PMSD) The government which was without an opposition did not last long! The MMM split and a new party, the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM) was formed. A new MSM/PSM coalition was
formed with a tiny majority which made it impossible to get the budget through the House. Fresh elections were held in August 1983.
The year 1983 was by far the most politically unstable year of post-independent Mauritius, but it also marked a clear break in economic policy pursued
thereafter. The MSM/PSM/MLP/PMSD grande alliance was formed to fight the MMM during the election. The Alliance won the election with a comfortable majority and was held together until 1985. Despite being faced with
a series of political crises, corruption and bribery charges, the alliance was returned to power in 1987 largely due to its impressive record of pulling the economy out of the recession of the early 1980s. The
Alliance however split in 1990 and the militants (MSM and MMM) were once again reunited to fight the 1991 election which was won with a resounding victory, but the alliance was split in 1993. In the 1995
General Election, the MMM joined force with the MLP (under the new leadership of Dr. Navin Ramgoolam) and won, a majority of seats in Parliament. It took them a little more than twelve months to split.
The MLP, enjoying a slight majority in terms of seats, continued to govern till September 2000, when general elections were announced amid rampant corruption within the government. A last minute alliance
between the MSM and MMM led them to victory, with a majoriry of seats.
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