Mauritius election: Amid wiretapping scandal, what’s at stake?

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Some one million eligible voters in the Indian Ocean Mauritius will head out to vote on Sunday amid an explosive scandal that has implicated government figures in a covert wiretapping operation.

Since independence from Britain in 1968, the southeast African country has maintained a strong, vibrant parliamentary democracy. This will be its 12th national election.

Elections are usually deemed free and fair and turnout is normally high, at close to 80 percent.

This time, however, the unusual drama caused by the leaked recordings has sparked national agitation and dominated the campaign season.

Tensions have further escalated after authorities last week imposed a social media ban until November 11, a day after the elections. The unprecedented move provoked outrage from opposition groups and citizens, prompting the government to overturn it a day later.

Renowned for its touristy white beaches, the small island nation has a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $10,000, among the highest in Africa – which contrasts starkly with that of fellow island nation Madagascar, which has a per capita GDP of $500.

That’s thanks to Mauritius’s diversified economy, with manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, and a growing pharmaceutical industry.

A nation of 1.3 million, Mauritius is also demographically diverse, made up of multiple communities that trace ancestry to Asian and African indentured and enslaved people who served the colonial governments of first France, and then Britain. The country was in the global limelight in October when it successfully forced the United Kingdom to hand over the Chagos Islands after years of dispute.

Morisien, a French-based creole, is the country’s national language, spoken alongside English and French. The rupee is the national currency and Port Louis is the capital city.

Here’s what you need to know about the Mauritius election and the leaked tape drama that is shaping it.

What’s the wiretapping scandal?

In October, a TikTok account under the name ‘Missie Moustass’ (Mr Mustache) began to release audio recordings that allegedly featured more than a dozen phone conversations of high-ranking politicians who were talking about opposition members, police, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society.

One of the recordings allegedly features the island’s police commissioner, Anil Kumar Dip, who appears to be asking a forensic doctor to alter the post-mortem report of a person who died after being beaten in police custody.

Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is seeking re-election, announced a judicial investigation and has suggested the clips might have been doctored using artificial intelligence. His office put the social media ban in place to “preserve national security”, he said, although members of the opposition accused Jugnauth of trying to use the ban to minimise embarrassment from any further leaks ahead of the election.

How does voting work?

Voters on Sunday will elect members of the National Assembly from multiple parties.

Parliament comprises 70 lawmakers, 62 of whom are directly elected by voters. A “best loser” system means the highest-polling losing parties are allocated eight additional seats based on ethnic and religious quotas.

Parliament in turn appoints the president, who is largely ceremonial. The leader of the political party or party alliance which wins the majority becomes the prime minister.

Who is in the running?

Power has mainly resided with three parties: the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), the Labour Party, and the Mauritius Militant Movement (MMM). These parties often enter shifting alliances with other parties during elections to improve their chances at securing a majority in parliament. Prime ministers have mostly been from two families.

PM Jugnauth (63) – MSM/Alliance Lepep

Jugnauth is gunning for a second term under the Alliance Lepep (People’s Alliance) – which comprises his ruling MSM and the Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD). He has led the nation as prime minister since 2017, taking over from former longtime prime minister, and his father, Anerood Jugnauth. Many in the country saw that as nepotism. However, in the 2019 general elections, the MSM won 42 parliament seats, keeping Jugnauth in office.

The MSM has a firm support base among rural voters. That, coupled with an improving macroeconomic outlook, is the party’s biggest advantage as it enters the election. Jugnauth’s government is credited with a rapid bounceback after the COVID-19 pandemic, when GDP contracted by 14.6 percent. The economy has subsequently rebounded year-on-year, according to The World Bank, and unemployment has dropped from nearly 9 percent to 5 percent.

However, many Mauritians still complain of bitterly high commodity prices. Jugnauth’s government is promising a 14th-month bonus for public and private sector workers as well as pensioners from December. The administration also wants to cut value-added tax (VAT) on water, juice, clothing and shoes.

Jugnauth’s greatest legacy will perhaps be his government’s success in wresting the Chagos Islands back from the UK, which took over the island as a condition for Mauritian independence and displaced Indigenous Chagossians. After more than 50 years of dispute, Jugnauth’s government dragged the UK to the International Court of Justice. This October, the ICJ ruled against the UK.

Navin Ramgoolam (77) – Labour Party/Alliance for Change

Ramgoolam heads the Labour Party, the oldest political party in Mauritius (founded in 1936), and presently, the official opposition in parliament with 13 seats. Labour is allying with one-time Prime Minister Paul Berenger’s influential Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) and a few others under the umbrella of Alliance for Change. Labour traditionally has a strong support base of Indo-Mauritians, and is seen as a key challenger to the MSM.

Ramgoolam was prime minister from 1995 to 2000, and from 2005 to 2014. He is the son of the founding Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. Ramgoolam Junior’s governments were controversy-ridden, with numerous allegations of corruption and sexual and drinking escapades. In 2016, the police found $6.3m stashed in his home.

During campaigning ahead of Sunday’s vote, Ramgoolam has tried to highlight the wiretap scandal. He has promised to enact laws specifically criminalising wiretapping if his alliance wins, although Ramgoolam has been accused by some as the instigator of state-sanctioned wire-taps: One of the leaked recordings appears to date back to 1995 when he was prime minister. Ramgoolam has also promised lower prices and higher wages and pensions.

Nando Bodha (70) – Linion Reform

This third force faces tough odds against the two well-established alliances but Bodha and his running partner, Roshi Bhadain, are pressing on. Both men were formerly in the Jugnauth camp but say they want a system shake-up and are appealing to young, urban voters. However, some analysts warn the party could end up dividing the opposition vote and propelling the MSM to another victory.

What are the key issues?

High living costs: Rising prices of petrol and other commodities are pinching Mauritians. High prices have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic, although Mauritius is credited as one of the African countries that bounced back the fastest following the disruptions. In 2022, a citizen’s movement began a hunger strike to prompt a review of petrol prices that had risen to 74 rupees ($1.60), accusing national pricing institutions of corruption. The price has now come down to 66 rupees ($1.42), and PM Jugnauth’s Lepep has promised further price reductions if elected. His government also recently announced a reduction in VAT and a ban on excise duties on petroleum products.
Crime and drugs: Mauritians ranked drug abuse and addiction as the second-most important problem facing the country after high living costs, according to a July survey by Afrobarometer. A growing narco economy which initially peaked in the 1990s has made a comeback. About 55,000 people between the ages of 18 and 59 (7.4 percent of that segment of the population) consume non-injectable drugs, including cannabis, and synthetics, according to government figures. Many Mauritians are clamouring for tougher crackdowns on traffickers and government-sponsored education and rehabilitation programmes for young people.
Corruption and transparency: Fears around weakening civil rights in the country are also growing, especially amid the recent revelations suggesting that government-sanctioned wiretapping has been widespread over decades. In the wake of the social media ban in November, some citizens and Mauritian analysts even called Prime Minister Jugnauth a “fascist”. Speaking to the local news site, Le Mauricien, activist Stefan Gua said the prime minister “has switched to dictatorial excesses, especially in recent months”. In November, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which ranks African nations based on overall governance and which previously ranked Mauritius number one, downgraded the country to second place. There are fears that more downgrades could affect foreign investment and tourism.

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