General elections were held in Mauritius on 10 November 2024. The election was called after the government reached a deal with the United Kingdom to end the Chagos Archipelago dispute. Shortly before the election, a wire-tapping scandal surfaced. The government responded by implementing a social media ban that was to last until after the election but was instead lifted a day later following public outcry. Pravind Jugnauth became prime minister in 2017, succeeding his father Anerood Jugnauth. Alliances that contested the election included Jugnauth's Alliance Lepep, which comprised the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), Muvman Liberater (ML), Muvman Patriot Morisien (MPM), Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD) and Plateforme Militante (PM). Alliance du Changement (AdC), led by Navin Ramgoolam, comprised the Labour Party, former Prime Minister Paul Bérenger's Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), the New Democrats (ND) and Rezistans ek Alternativ (ReA). Key campaign issues included the cost of living, crime and corruption. A total of 1,002,857 registered voters were eligible to vote.
Votes were counted on 11 November, with turnout at 79%, the highest since 2010. Alliance du Changement won the election in a landslide, winning all but one of the country's 21 constituencies. Jugnauth conceded defeat shortly after vote counting began. It was the largest margin of victory since 1995. Four unsuccessful candidates were appointed through the Best Loser System, including two from Alliance Lepep and two from Alliance Liberation. Due to the plurality block voting system, total votes exceed the total number of registered electors. Ramgoolam was sworn in as prime minister on 13 November, and his cabinet was inaugurated on 22 November.
Background At the 2019 snap election, the governing Alliance Morisien, led by Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, won re-election, securing 42 seats. The opposition Alliance Nationale, led by former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, won 17 seats. Former Prime Minister Paul Bérenger's Mauritian Militant Movement secured nine, and the Rodrigues People's Organisation retained its two seats. Due to the electoral system, Alliance Morisien was able to secure a majority of seats despite only obtaining 37% of the popular vote. Jugnauth succeeded his father, Anerood Jugnauth, as prime minister in 2017, which was met with accusations of nepotism by the opposition. Observers attributed the government's victory to economic growth and the commencement of infrastructure projects. The opposition and civil society groups alleged irregularities, including reports of misplaced ballots and inadequately trained election workers.
After the election, Surendra Dayal, who unsuccessfully contested Prime Minister Jugnauth's constituency of Quartier Militare and Moka, filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the constituency's result. Dayal claimed that Jugnauth and the other two successful candidates, who were also from Alliance Morisien, had engaged in bribery and undue influence to win their seats. The case was dismissed on appeal in 2023.
2020 oil spill and protests
In July 2020, a Japanese-controlled bulk carrier, Wakashio, crashed into a coral reef off the coast of south-eastern Mauritius, near Mahébourg, resulting in an oil spill. The Jugnauth government declared a national emergency on 7 August. The incident, which occurred near two environmentally protected marine ecosystems, resulted in a setback for the tourism and fisheries sectors, on which Mauritius is highly dependent. The environmental damage and the death of wildlife sparked public outcry, and the government response faced criticism for a perceived failure to hold foreign actors accountable. As a result, protests broke out, a rare occurrence in Mauritius that saw an attendance of around 100,000.
Wire-tapping scandal
In October 2024, a wire-tapping scandal broke out; the phone calls of numerous journalists, politicians, civil society members and foreign diplomats were reportedly tapped and leaked on the internet. Prime Minister Jugnauth and the Mauritius Police Force claimed that artificial intelligence had modified the leaked calls. Journalists affected by the tapping, however, said the calls were authentic. One journalist alleged the government's AI claims were an attempt to deflect attention from the scandal's fallout.
Jugnauth announced an emergency committee would investigate the breach. Citing national security concerns, the government implemented a social media ban on 1 November, to last until the day after the election. Four suspects, including a former CEO of Mauritius Telecom, were arrested that day. The opposition claimed the ban was politically motivated and aimed at preventing the Jugnauth government's defeat at the polls. Following widespread public uproar, the government reversed the ban on 2 November.
Chagos Archipelago agreement On 3 October, the Mauritian government announced an agreement with the United Kingdom had been reached that would end the Chagos Archipelago dispute over the British Indian Ocean Territory, subject to a final treaty. The UK would relinquish the archipelago's sovereignty to Mauritius; however, Diego Garcia, which hosts a United States military base, would be leased for 99 years. Jugnauth said the lease would provide Mauritius with "billions of rupees". The deal was met with varied reactions by the exiled Chagossians. While they praised the agreement as a likely step to return to the archipelago, many Chagossians criticised the Mauritian and British governments for failing to include them in the negotiations. Navin Ramgoolam and Paul Bérenger welcomed the transfer of the archipelago but criticised Jugnauth for agreeing to the lease of Diego Garcia. The Linion Moris party accused Jugnauth of using the deal for political gain. The day after the announcement, on 4 October, Jugnauth called the election.
Electoral system
The National Assembly has 62 directly elected members; 60 represent 20 three-seat constituencies, and two are elected from a constituency on the island of Rodrigues. The elections are held using the plurality block vote system with panachage, whereby voters have as many votes as seats available. The Electoral Commission divides the electorate into four communities: Hindus, Muslims, Sino-Mauritians and the general population; the latter comprises voters who do not belong to the first three. Mauritius employs the Best Loser System (BLS) to ensure all communities are guaranteed parliamentary representation proportional to their percentage of the population. If a community's share of MPs does not match its population percentage after a general election, the Electoral Supervisory Commission can appoint up to eight of the highest polling unsuccessful candidates from that community. The first four BLS members are selected regardless of their political affiliation. The other four are chosen from the party that has received the highest percentage of votes nationwide, to prevent BLS from changing an election outcome. Unless the president dissolves the National Assembly early, members serve a five-year term.
Eligible candidates and voters are required to be at least 18 years old, citizens of the Commonwealth and have resided in Mauritius for at least two years before the nomination date. A total of 1,002,857 individuals were registered to vote in this election. Public officials stationed in Mauritius but enrolled in constituencies in Rodrigues or Agaléga and vice versa are eligible to apply for proxy voting. Since 2014, it has been optional for candidates to declare which community they belong to. Contestants who refuse to affiliate with a community are ineligible for a Best Loser nomination. Candidates have to be proficient enough in English to participate in parliamentary procedures. They also require the nomination from at least six electors in their constituency and a deposit to be paid, which is refunded if they obtain at least 10% of the vote. Individuals ineligible to be contestants include those who have committed electoral offences, have served a prison sentence exceeding 12 months, have undisclosed government contracts or have undisclosed bankruptcy.
Parties and candidates The candidate nomination deadline was on 22 October. A total of 73 parties were registered to contest the election. Two major coalitions announced their participation in the elections: Alliance Lepep, formed in 2014 and led by Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, and Ramgoolam's Alliance du Changement, formed shortly before the nomination day. In addition to Jugnauth's Militant Socialist Movement, other member parties of Alliance Lepep include Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate, Muvman Liberater, Plateforme Militante and Muvman Patriot Morisien. Parties in Alliance du Changement included Ramgoolam's Labour Party, former Prime Minister Paul Bérenger's Mauritian Militant Movement, Rezistans ek Alternativ and the New Democrats. A total of 891 candidates contested the election, Alliance Lepep and Alliance du Changement fielded 60 candidates each. There were 514 independent contestants, and the remaining candidates were affiliated with other parties or alliances. Only 165 contestants were women, while 273 were under the age of 40. As in the 2019 election, the Rodrigues People's Organisation only contested the Rodrigues constituency.
Major alliance Member parties Alliance leader Candidates Alliance Lepep Militant Socialist Movement Pravind Jugnauth 40 Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate 10 Muvman Liberater 5 Muvman Patriot Morisien 3 Plateforme Militante 2 Alliance du Changement Labour Party Navin Ramgoolam 35 Mauritian Militant Movement 19 New Democrats 3 Rezistans ek Alternativ 3
Campaign Major issues among voters included the cost of living crisis, corruption and crime. Many Mauritians called for government-sponsored rehabilitation and education to combat the rising rates of drug use in the country. A July 2024 Afrobarometer survey showed that Mauritians considered drug addiction and abuse to be the second-most important issue after the cost of living.
Alliance Lepep announced a manifesto on 28 October. The alliance emphasised a commitment to economic reform and social welfare. The bloc proposals included a monthly allowance of 2000 rupees for stay-at-home mothers, the establishment of a fund to assist students from low-income families, and a special tribunal to expedite criminal drug cases. In light of the wire-tapping scandal, the bloc promised the creation of an independent body that would combat phone-tapping. Other initiatives included free prescription medicine and signing a final treaty with the UK to seal the Chagos Islands agreement. It also pledged to finance economic programs using payments made to be made by the UK under the revised agreement over the Chagos Islands.
Alliance du Changement launched a manifesto on 29 October. Proposals included tax exemptions for citizens aged 18 to 28, measures to end fuel shortages, the introduction of a green economy and free public transport. The alliance also pledged to enact electoral reform, including transparent campaign finance laws, a quota ensuring one-third of all party candidates are women, legislation against party switching in parliament, and a Freedom of Information Act. The bloc advocated eliminating income taxes for citizens earning less than 77,000 Mauritian Rupees per month.