Opposition secures landslide victory in Mauritius election

Former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam has won a third term in the Indian Ocean nation, official results show.

Opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam has won a landslide victory in Mauritius’s parliamentary vote, the election commission said.

The Office of the Electoral Commissioner said on Tuesday that Rangoolam and his Alliance of Change (ADC) coalition won 62.6 percent of the vote, securing the three-time former prime minister a fourth term.

The ADC won 60 of 62 seats in the National Assembly, state broadcaster Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“The court of the people has delivered its verdict and a new Mauritius awakes,” 77-year-old Rangoolam said to crowds of supporters amid boisterous cheers and blaring horns.

Ramgoolam served as prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

As well as the 60 seats for Mauritius, there were two up for grabs for the island of Rodrigues and another eight allocated under what is dubbed the “best loser” system.

The winner-takes-all election model means single coalitions often dominate parliament.

‘Free to talk’

Incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth had conceded on Monday that his Lepep alliance, led by his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), was “heading towards a huge defeat”.

“The people have chosen another team to lead the country,” Jugnauth, who has served as prime minister since 2017, told reporters.

Only last month, the 62-year-old prime minister was celebrating a historic deal that saw Britain cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a long-running dispute.

But the vote was overshadowed by an explosive wire-tapping scandal, when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats, members of civil society and journalists were leaked online.

Ramgoolam said that following his landslide victory, he would first dismantle the country’s “spying system so that Mauritians will be free to talk”.

Economic challenges

During the campaign, both camps promised to improve the lot of Mauritians who face cost-of-living difficulties despite robust economic growth.

Measures outlined in the Alliance of Change manifesto include the creation of a fund to support families facing hardship, free public transport, increased pensions and reduced fuel prices, as well as efforts to tackle corruption and boost the green economy.

It also called for constitutional and electoral reforms including changing how the president and parliament speaker are chosen.

At least one million people were registered to vote on Sunday in the 12th election since Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.

Mauritius, which sits about 2,000km (1,240 miles) off Africa’s east coast, is recognised as one of the continent’s most stable democracies and has developed a successful economy underpinned by its finance, tourism and agricultural sectors since gaining independence.

Both Jugnauth and Ramgoolam are members of the dynasties that have dominated the leadership of Mauritius since independence.

Ramgoolam, who previously worked as a doctor and a lawyer, is the son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who led Mauritius to independence from Britain.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies