Mauritius Prime Minister concedes election defeat

Opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam looked set to take over the PM's post for the third time at the head of his Alliance of Change coalition

By AFP

Published: Mon 11 Nov 2024, 3:54 PM

The Mauritius opposition appeared to be headed for victory in legislative elections after Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Monday conceded defeat.

Final results have yet to be officially released, but opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam looked set to take over the post of prime minister for the third time at the head of his Alliance of Change coalition.

Jugnauth said his Lepep alliance, led by his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), was "heading towards a big defeat" in Sunday's poll in the prosperous Indian Ocean island nation.

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"The people have chosen another team to lead the country," Jugnauth, who has been prime minister since 2017, told reporters.

"We must respect this choice... and we wish the country and the population good luck."

Only last month, Jugnauth was celebrating a historic deal with Britain to regain sovereignty over the Chagos Islands following a long-running dispute.

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

During a lively and sometimes heated campaign, both camps promised voters they would take measures to improve the lot of ordinary Mauritians who face cost-of-living difficulties despite strong economic growth.

Turnout in Sunday's vote was strong at about 80 per cent, according to provisional estimates by the election commission.

Both Jugnauth and Ramgoolam are members of the dynasties that have dominated politics in Mauritius since it became independent from Britain in 1968.

Ramgoolam, 77, is the son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam -- who led Mauritius to independence -- and served as prime minister between 1995 and 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

On Sunday, he had voiced optimism that his bloc would win.

Sixty-two seats were up for grabs under a first-past-the-post system, with the remaining eight allocated under what is dubbed the "best loser" system.