Politics of Mauritius takes place in a framework of a parliamentary democracy. The separation of powers is among the three branches of the Government of Mauritius, namely the legislative, the executive and the Judiciary, is embedded in the Constitution of Mauritius. Being a Westminster system of government, Mauritius's unicameral house of parliament officially, the National Assembly, is supreme. It elects the President and the Prime Minister. While the President is voted by a single majority of votes in the house, the Prime Minister is the MP who supports a majority in the house. The President is the Head of State while the prime minister has full executive power and is the Head of Government who is assisted by a council of Ministers. Mauritius has a multi-party system. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Mauritius a "full democracy" in 2022.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and 1990s, he was Leader of the Opposition from 1976 to 1982. He served four consecutive terms as prime minister from 1982 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003. He was then elected as President from 2003 to 2012. Following his party's victory in the 2014 general elections, he served his sixth and final term as prime minister, becoming the nation's longest serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure, overtaking Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who held the office for 14 years.
Paul Raymond Bérenger is a Mauritian politician who was Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. He has been Leader of the Opposition on several occasions – from 1983 to 1987, 1997 to 2000, 2005 to 2006, 2007 to 2013, October 2013 to 15 September 2014, and again from December 2014 to December 2016 when he was replaced by Xavier-Luc Duval. Following his party's defeat in the 2014 general elections, he became Leader of the Opposition for the sixth time, making him the longest ever to serve in this constitutional position. He was also deputy prime minister from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2003, and he was a cabinet minister in the government of Anerood Jugnauth in 1982 and 1991. Bérenger, a Christian of Franco-Mauritian descent, has been the only non-Hindu prime minister of Mauritius, or, more particularly, the only prime minister who has not belonged to the Jugnauth or Ramgoolam families.
The President of the Republic of Mauritius is the head of state of the Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic, and the president functions as a ceremonial figurehead, elected by the National Assembly as set out by the Constitution of Mauritius. The current office-holder is Prithvirajsing Roopun. He took the office on 2 December 2019. The president's official residence is the State House.
The Mauritian Militant Movement is a left-wing socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was founded by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM advocates a "fairer" society, without discrimination on the basis of social class, race, community, caste, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
Since 1967, Mauritius has experienced 13 free and fair democratic general elections to choose a government.
The Labour Party is a centre-left social democratic political party in Mauritius. It is one of four main Mauritian political parties, along with the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD). The party is led by Navin Ramgoolam. It tends to be more popular amongst Indo-Mauritians, especially in more rural areas.
Navinchandra Ramgoolam is the current Prime Minister of Mauritius for the fourth time following the 2024 general election, after the landslide victory of his coalition Alliance du Changement. Ramgoolam's coalition defeated the previously ruling Militant Socialist Movement that formed the Alliance Lepep under the leadership of Pravind Jugnauth. Following Jugnauth's resignation, Ramgoolam was officially appointed Prime Minister by the Maurituan President, Prithvirajsing Roopun. He is also the current leader of the Labour Party.
The Mauritian Social Democratic Party, also known as the Mauritian Conservative Party, is a political party in Mauritius. Conservative and Francophilic, the PMSD is the fourth biggest political party in the National Assembly and currently forms part of the opposition.
The Militant Socialist Movement is a centre-left political party in Mauritius. It was the single largest political party in the National Assembly of Mauritius, having won 42 of the 69 seats in the 2019 general elections; however, following the 2024 election, it only possesses two seats. It also holds the largest number of seats in all city/town councils through the country with 60 councillors out of 120. The party tends to be more popular amongst Indo-Mauritians.
The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly from 1968 until 1992, when the country became a republic. Prior to 1968 and under British rule it was known as the Legislative Council. The Constitution of Mauritius provides for the parliament of Mauritius to consist of the President and the National Assembly. The parliament of Mauritius is modelled after the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, where members of parliament are voted in at regular general elections, on the basis of a first past the post system. The working language of the National Assembly is English.
General elections were held in Mauritius on 11 September 2000 to elect the members of the National Assembly.
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is a Mauritian politician who was one of the Prime Ministers of Mauritius, succeeding his father, Aneerood Jugnauth in 2017 where he lead the cabinet until 2019. He became Prime Minister again in 2019 following the victory of his coalition, L'Alliance Morisien, and he held the post until 2024 where he and his party faced a defeat under the Alliance Lepep coalition. Jugnauth is the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party. He has held a number of ministerial portfolios and also been Leader of the Opposition.
The Militant Socialist Movement/Mauritian Militant Movement (MSM/MMM) is coalition party that formed the government of the Republic of Mauritius from September 2000 to July 2005. The coalition has been reformed in April 2012 after an electoral agreement between the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) was made with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as leader. The agreements remain the same, 30 seats for the MMM and 30 seats for the MSM. It has also been conveyed that SAJ would be prime minister for 3 years and Paul Berenger would take over for the rest of the parliamentary term if the coalition wins the next general elections. It has also been agreed that Pravind Jugnauth who is leader of the MSM will not be in the Front Bench of the coalition in an eventual government of the MSM/MMM. This is because he has been provisionally charged with using office for gratification by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. He will therefore seat as a back-bencher until he is dismissed from all accusations.
The L'Alliance de L'avenir was a political alliance in Mauritius which was formed in 2010 for the next parliamentary elections which were held on 5 May 2010. It is an alliance of the Labour Party, Mouvement Socialiste Militant and Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate. It was formed by the prime minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam and is led by three other people, namely Rashid Beebeejaun, Xavier-Luc Duval and Pravind Jugnauth.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Mauritius is the official council which advises the President of the Republic in the making of major decisions. It is led by the Prime Minister and a total of 23 ministers and the Attorney General, who is considered to be a cabinet member. The constitution of the Republic provides a cabinet under the leadership of the Prime Minister that must be appointed by the President after each general elections.
General elections were held in Mauritius on 21 August 1983. The result was a victory for an alliance of the Militant Socialist Movement, the Labour Party and the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate, which between them won 46 seats. The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won 32 seats, whilst the Labour Party secured nine seats and PMSD five. This alliance allowed Jugnauth to continue as Prime Minister while bringing Seewoosagur Ramgoolam and Gaetan Duval back into the government after their severe defeat in the 1982 elections. Shortly after, Ramgoolam was appointed as Governor General, Duval became Deputy Prime Minister and Satcam Boolell became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Voter turnout was 85%.
Nandcoomar Bodha MP is a Mauritian politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius. He was also the Minister of Tourism & Leisure of Mauritius. He has been holding the office since 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011, He held the same office from 2000 to 2003 in the MSM/MMM coalition government. When Pravind Jugnauth was sworn as Deputy Prime Minister, he took the office of Minister of Agriculture in 2003 up to 2005.He was appointed 8th position in the Cabinet of Navin Ramgoolam.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius is a senior member of the Cabinet of Mauritius. The incumbent Deputy Prime Minister Louis Steven Obeegadoo was appointed by the President on 25th of June 2020 after the resignation of Ivan Collendavelloo. The Deputy Prime Minister is the first in line to succeed the Prime Minister on a temporary basis in case the latter is out of the country, sick, resigns or dies suddenly.
General elections were held in Mauritius on 10 December 2014 and resulted in a landslide victory for the Alliance Lepep coalition, which secured 47 of the elected seats under the leadership of Sir Anerood Jugnauth. The Labour Party–Mauritian Militant Movement (PTR–MMM) alliance led by Navin Ramgoolam got 13 seats.
