1891 Mauritian general election

General elections were held in Mauritius in 1891.

Electoral system

The 1885 constitution provided for a 28-member Legislative Council, which consisted of the Governor, 12 officials, 5 appointed members and 10 elected members. ^[1] The ten elected members were returned from nine constituencies formed from the nine districts, which all districts returning one member except Port Louis, which returned two. ^[2]

The franchise for the elections was severely limited; the right to vote was restricted to people with ₨300 of immovable property or movable property worth ₨3,000, a monthly salary of ₨50, those paying rent of ₨25 a month or paying a licence duty of at ₨200 a year. People married to eligible voters, or the oldest son of a qualifying widow were also entitled to vote. As a result, although the population of Mauritius was around 370,000, only 5,164 people were eligible to vote, of which just 401 were Asian. ^[3]

References

1. Selvon, Sydney (2012). Volume 2: From British Mauritius to the 21st Century. A New Comprehensive History of Mauritius. Vol. 2. Port-Louis, Mauritius: MDS Editions. ISBN   1480168440.
2. "Constitutional Evolution of Mauritius from British rule to Independence" (PDF). Government of Mauritius. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-08.
3. Sternberger, Dolf; Vogel, Bernhard; Nohlen, Dieter; Landfried, Klaus (1978). Politische Organisation und Repräsentation in Afrika[The election of parliaments and other state bodies: political organization and representation in Africa]. Die Wahl der Parlamente und anderer Staatsorgane (in German). Vol. Band 2 Afrika. De Gruyter. p. 1394. ISBN   9783110904802.