Historically, Mauritius's government has been led by the Labour Party or the MSM for the exception of short periods from 1982 to 1983 and 2003–2005 where the MMM was at the head of the country. L'Alliance Lepep, a coalition of several political parties including MSM, Muvman Liberater and PMSD, won the 2014 elections.[3] Two years into the political term, the PMSD announced their resignation from the coalition government on 19 December 2016, and joined the ranks of the opposition.[4][5] On 23 January 2017, the then prime minister, 86-year-old Sir Aneerood Jugnauth,[6] a key political figure in Mauritian politics who has previously served several political terms spanning over many decades, announced that he was stepping down as prime minister.[7] Following the Westminster tradition, the leader of the governing party (MSM party) in the coalition government, Pravind Jugnauth who is Sir Aneerood Jugnauth's son and then Minister of Finance, was sworn in as prime minister.[7] Although Sir Aneerood Jugnauth resigned as prime minister, he is still serving as Minister Mentor, Minister of Defence, Minister for Rodrigues.[6] Mauritius' ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won more than half of the seats in 2019 parliamentary election, securing incumbent prime minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth a new five-year term.[8] On 10 November 2024, the opposition coalition, Alliance du Changement, won 60 of the 64 seats in the Mauritian general election. Its leader, former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam, became new prime minister.[9]
Legislative branch
The president and vice president are elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms. They form part along with the Speaker of the National Assembly, the legislative offices which under the constitution have the final decision and last word on any legislative matter including the laws of Mauritius. Most of the work is executed by the Executive Branch which consists of the Cabinet of Ministers, Leader of the Opposition and also other members of the parliament.
Executive branch
Another important structure of the government of Mauritius is the executive branch. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president and is responsible to the National Assembly. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. The Council of Ministers (cabinet), responsible for the direction and control of the government, consists of the prime minister (head of government), the leader of the majority party in the legislature, and about 24 ministers including one deputy prime minister and/or one vice prime minister.
The Executive branch being with the Cabinet have four most powerful executive offices: prime minister, deputy prime minister and two offices of vice prime minister. They have the executive power and authority over the cabinet and also help the prime minister in his tasks and responsibilities.
In Mauritius, the prime minister enjoys significant power whereas the president has a mostly ceremonial role. The president as head of state resides in a historical Chateau laid on 220 hectares of land and the prime minister resides in the much smaller Clarisse House. Nevertheless, the prime minister is the chief executive. He is responsible for any bill sent to the president from the assembly. He presides over all cabinet ministers and is the first adviser of the president. He is the head of government and it is on his advice that the president shall appoint any person in the government.
Order of precedence
This is a list of ceremonial precedence for the Mauritian government:[10]
The President
The Prime Minister
The Vice President
The Deputy Prime Minister
The Chief Justice
The Speaker of the National Assembly
The Leader of the Opposition
The Former Presidents, Former Governor-Generals and Queen Elizabeth II King Charles III
The Former Prime Minister
The Vice Prime Ministers
The Ministers
The Former Vice President
The Government Chief Whip
The Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues
The Parliamentary Private Secretaries
The Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service
Financial Secretary/Secretary for Home Affairs/Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Dean of the Diplomatic Corps/Heads and Acting Heads of Diplomatic
Missions/Representatives of International and Regional Organisations
The Senior Puisne Judge
The Solicitor General/Puisne Judges/Senior Chief Executives
The Chief of Protocol
The Commissioner of Police
The Permanent Secretaries/Ambassadors/Secretary to President
The Deputy Speaker/Members of the National Assembly
The Heads of Religious Bodies
Holders of G.O.S.K. and/or persons knighted by the King
Lord Mayor of Port-Louis/Mayors/Chairpersons of District Councils
Consul General/Consuls/Honorary Consuls General/Honorary Consuls
The present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is, Rehana Mungly-Gulbul who succeeded Ashraf Caunhye in 2021.[12]
Political controversies
2024 censorship of social media platforms
On 31 October 2024, ahead of the general elections taking place on 10 November, the ICT Authority ordered telecommunication operators to block all social media platforms. This came in response to "concerns regarding illegal postings that may impact national security and public safety".[13] Many Mauritians associated the "illegal postings" with the Missie Moustass audio leaks.[14]
In October 2024, weeks ahead of the general elections, an anonymous Facebook account by the name of Missie Moustass (Mauritian Creole for "Mr Mustache") released audio recordings allegedly made by the sitting government on political adversaries, journalists, diplomats, and lawyers. These recordings consisted of phone calls made over WhatsApp, as well as traditional mobile. Shortly after this series of leaks, the Facebook account was taken down.[15] However, an account of the same name was then created on TikTok where the previous audio leaks were reposted, as well as new ones. Some of the people whose phone calls were recorded and subsequently released confirmed their validity, and that those conversations had indeed happened.[16]
Eventually, the TikTok account was also blocked, after which Missie Moustass created a YouTube Account, which remained active afterwards. On 1 November 2024, Mauritius suspended access to social media platforms just 10 days before national elections, citing national security concerns amid a scandal involving leaked phone recordings of politicians. Opposition leaders condemned the move as an attack on freedom of expression and a desperate tactic by the ruling party ahead of the November 10 election.[17]
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