The Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam received lately the report on the reform of electoral system submitted by a team of eminent international constitutional experts headed by Professor Guy Carcassonne, French constitutional expert of international repute.

The team also comprised Professor Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at the Oxford University and Visiting Professor of Constitutional History at King’s College, London, and Dr Pere Vilanova Trias, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science at the University of Barcelona, Spain. The three experts have wide experience in electoral reforms and are frequently consulted by foreign governments and international organizations on constitutional issues.

The term of reference of the team was to make proposals for a reform of our electoral system with the following objectives:

Effectiveness: an election should allow the emergence of a majority and it is for the electorate to choose the people by whom they wish to be governed;

Equity: the proposals should address and correct the inordinate imbalances created by the First-Past-the-Post system which has frequently produced results which were grossly disproportionate to the share of votes obtained by the different parties;

Diversity: the electoral system should ensure a fair representation of all the different components of the Mauritian population in Parliament; and

Gender balance: the under representation of women in Parliament must be addressed. The proposals should aim to eventually move towards parity between men and women.

The Prime Minister has agreed to release the report to the public. He has also requested that a copy of the report be presented to the Leader of the Opposition, Paul Bérenger; the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Rashid Beebeejaun; the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Xavier Luc Duval and to all leaders of political parties.