| Parliament name |
National Assembly - Assemblée nationale |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
3 July 2005 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the directly elected members of Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body in April 2005. General elections had previously been held in September 2000. |
Prime Minister Paul Berenger dissolved parliament on 24 April 2005 and set the date for parliamentary elections for 3 July. A total of 634 candidates ran for the 62 directly elected seats in the National Assembly. This volcanic island in the Indian Ocean
with 1.2 million inhabitants
is composed primarily of ethnic Indians. Other communities include whites of French and British origin and Creoles
who are descendants of African slaves.
In the 2000 election
the Social Alliance (AS) was overwhelmingly defeated by a coalition of the Militant Mauritian Movement (MMM) and the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM)
which won a total of 54 seats by promising to create 70
000 jobs and fight corruption. A power-transfer deal was signed between the coalition partners whereby MMM leader
Sir Anerood Jugnauth
would hold the premiership until August 2003
to be succeeded by the MSM leader
Mr. Paul Berenger. Mr. Berenger
a White of French origin
became the first non-Hindu prime minister of the island in September 2003.
In the 2005 election
the ruling MMM-MSM coalition
led by Mr. Berenger
insisted that it was able to continue economic progress
political stability and social harmony on its own. The coalition was historically supported mainly by ethnic Indians. The opposition AS
headed by former prime minister Ramgoolam
criticized the outgoing government for not dealing with corruption and drug problems. Mr. Ramgoolam campaigned for economic democratization by loosening certain key sectors of the country's economy that were dominated by a small number of families. He also promised that all those over 60 years of age would automatically qualify for an old-age pension
and students would be entitled to free transport. The alliance was supported by citizens living in conditions of poverty
who believed that the country's economy has been dominated by Franco-Mauritian elites.
Approximately 81 per cent of the 820
000 registered voters turned out at the polls. The Social Alliance won an absolute majority of 38 seats
while the MMM-MSM coalition was reduced to 22 seats
losing 32 from its 2000 score. The Organization of the People of Rodrigues (OPR) kept its two seats. A total of 11 women were elected
including four new members of parliament.
On 6 July
the Electoral Commission announced the eight "best losers"
including one woman: four from the AS
two from the MSM-MMM coalition and two from the OPR
who were subsequently appointed.
The new parliament held its first session on 12 July 2005 and elected Mr. Rajkeswur Purryag as speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 3 July 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
817'356
664'081 (81.24%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Social Alliance (AS) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Alliance MSM - MMM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Organization of the People of Rodrigues (OPR) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
Best losers |
|
|
| Social Alliance (AS) |
38
|
32 |
4 |
|
|
| Alliance MSM - MMM |
22
|
-32 |
2 |
|
|
| Organization of the People of Rodrigues (OPR) |
2
|
0 |
2 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
58
12
17.14%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source:
- Electoral Commission's Office (http://electoral.gov.mu/)
- BBC News
- lexpress (http://www.lexpress.mu)
11 women were directly elected
one was appointed. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
