Leader of the Opposition (Mauritius)

Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius
Leader de l'opposition
Coat of arms of Mauritius
Incumbent Joe Lesjongard since 15 November 2024
Style	The Honourable
Reports to	President of Mauritius
Appointer	President of Mauritius
Term length	While leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government
Inaugural holder	Sir Gaëtan Duval
Formation	12 March 1968
Salary	Rs 1.9 Million

The leader of the opposition (French : Leader de l'opposition) of the Republic of Mauritius is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in Mauritius. The leader of the opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government.

This office is a constitutional one guaranteed by the laws of the country. The incumbent officeholder automatically becomes 7th in the order of precedence. The current leader of the opposition is Georges Pierre Lesjongard, more commonly known as Joe Lesjongard, who was appointed on 15 November 2024.

Overview

The political party or party alliance which wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government and its leader usually becomes the prime minister. The prime minister selects the members of the composition of the Cabinet from elected members of the Assembly, except for the attorney general who may not be an elected member of the Assembly. The political party or alliance which has the second-largest majority forms the Official Opposition and its leader is normally nominated by the president of the Republic as the leader of the opposition. ^[1]

According to Section 73 of the Constitution of Mauritius, there shall be a leader of the opposition who shall be appointed by the president, where the president has occasion to appoint a leader of the opposition, he shall in his own deliberate judgment appoint –

(a) where there is one opposition party whose numerical strength in the Assembly is greater than the strength of any other opposition party, the member of the Assembly who is the leader in the Assembly of that party; or

(b) where there is no such party, the member of the Assembly whose appointment would, in the judgment of the president, be most acceptable to the leaders in the Assembly of the opposition parties:

Provided that, where occasion arises for making an appointment while Parliament is dissolved, a person who was a member of the Assembly immediately before the dissolution may be appointed leader of the opposition. ^[2]

List of leaders of the opposition

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Election	Tenure		Party
				Took office	Left office
1		Gaëtan Duval (1930–1996)	1967	7 August 1967	1 December 1969		PMSD
2		Maurice Lesage (1923–1992) [3]		1 December 1969	October 1973		UDM
3		Sookdeo Bissoondoyal (1907–1977)		23 October 1973	23 December 1976		IFB
4		Anerood Jugnauth (1930–2021)	1976	23 December 1976	11 June 1982		MMM
(1)		Sir Gaëtan Duval (1930–1996)	1982	11 June 1982	21 August 1983		PMSD
5		Paul Bérenger [4] (born 1945)	1983	21 August 1983	15 September 1987		MMM
6		Prem Nababsing (1940–2017)	1987	15 September 1987	18 August 1990
7		Sir Satcam Boolell (1920–2006)		18 August 1990	15 September 1991		PTr
8		Navin Ramgoolam [4] (born 1947)	1991	15 September 1991	20 December 1995		PTr
(1)		Sir Gaëtan Duval [5] (1930–1996)	1995	20 December 1995	5 May 1996		PMSD
9		Nicolas Von Mally [5]		18 May 1996	5 July 1997		MR
(5)		Paul Bérenger [4] (born 1945)		5 July 1997	11 September 2000		MMM
(8)		Navin Ramgoolam [4] (born 1947)	2000	11 September 2000	5 July 2005		PTr
(5)		Paul Bérenger [6] (born 1945)	2005	5 July 2005	4 April 2006		MMM
10		Nando Bodha [6] (born 1954)		4 April 2006	24 September 2007		MSM
(5)		Paul Bérenger [6] (born 1945)	2010	25 September 2007	28 January 2013		MMM
11		Alan Ganoo [6] (born 1951)		28 January 2013	1 October 2013		MMM
(5)		Paul Bérenger [6] (born 1945)		1 October 2013	15 September 2014		MMM
12		Pravind Jugnauth [6] (born 1961)		15 September 2014	13 December 2014		MSM
(5)		Paul Bérenger [6] (born 1945)	2014	22 December 2014	20 December 2016		MMM
13		Xavier-Luc Duval [6] (born 1958)		20 December 2016	14 November 2019		PMSD
14		Arvin Boolell [6] (born 1953)	2019	14 November 2019	1 March 2021		PTr
(13)		Xavier-Luc Duval [6] (born 1958)		4 March 2021	15 April 2024		PMSD
15		Shakeel Mohamed [6] (born 1968)		15 April 2024	3 June 2024		PTr
(14)		Arvin Boolell [6] (born 1953)		3 June 2024	12 November 2024		PTr
16		Joe Lesjongard [4]	2024	15 November 2024	Incumbent		MSM

Timeline

See also

• Africa portal
• Politics portal

• Prime Minister of Mauritius
• Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
• Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius
• Government of Mauritius

References

1. "National Assembly - Introduction". Government of Mauritius. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
2. "Leader of Opposition". Government of Mauritius. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
3. Houbert, Jean (April 1994). "Sydney Selvon, Historical Dictionary of Mauritius, second edition. London: Scarecrow Press, 1991, 285 pp., £26.25, ISBN 0 8108 2480 9" . Africa. 64 (2): 300–301. doi:10.2307/1160994. ISSN   0001-9720.
4. "Hon.Members - Mauritius National Assembly". mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
5. "Mauritius: New Leader of the Opposition". africaintelligence.com. Africa Intelligence. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
6. "List of Honourable Members - National Assembly Elections 2019". mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. Retrieved 3 March 2025.