Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnanth has dissolved the parliament in Mauritius and has scheduled a general election to hold on the 7th of November this year.

By law, the country has between 30 and 150 days to conduct fresh elections after the prime minister dissolves parliament.

Why Was Parliament Dissolved?

The Mauritius parliament, which consists of the National Assembly and the president are elected for a five-year term, after which the prime minister dissolves parliament and a new election is held. The last elections were held in 2014 and now, five years later, it is time for the parliament to be dissolved and new elections to be held.

How Mauritius Selects its Leaders

The parliament of Mauritius follows the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, where members of parliament are voted in at regular general elections, in a First-past-the-post system. Mauritius politics is mainly dominated by three parties; The Labor Party, the Mauritian Military Movement and the Militant Socialist Movement. The government is formed by the party or group which controls a majority in parliament.

Parliament usually consists of 70 members, 62 of which are elected for a five-year term while the other 8 known as the ‘best losers” are appointed by the supreme court to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented. The president and vice-president are then elected for a five-year term by the parliament.

The Prime Minister is the head of government as he leads the National Assembly and presides over the cabinet of ministers who advise the president. He is also elected by members of parliament and can remain in office as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members.

Prime Minister Jugnauth will be seeking another term as leader of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM). He started serving as prime minister in 2017 following the resignation of coalition leader, Anerood Jugnauth who is also his father.