Mauritius: Opposition Leader Appointed Prime Minister After Election Win

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Facts

• Navin Ramgoolam, the leader of the opposition Alliance du Changement coalition, was appointed prime minister of Mauritius on Tuesday.^[1]
• The son of the country's first post-independence leader will be in office for his fourth five-year term as he previously served as prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and between 2005 and 2014. A date for his swearing-in ceremony has yet to be set.^[2][3]
• This comes as his coalition won 62.6% of the vote in Sunday's general election — and 60 of the 70 seats in parliament. Meanwhile, the Lepep alliance got 28% of the vote and now has only two seats, compared to 42 after the 2019 election.^[4][5]
• There were at least 1M people registered to vote, with the electoral commission reporting a voter turnout of about 80%.^[3][4]
• On Monday, outgoing Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth conceded defeat, telling reporters that his Lepep coalition was 'heading towards a huge defeat' as 'the people have chosen another team to lead the country.'^[5][6]
• Last month, Britain agreed to give sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius — a development thought to be favorable to Jugnauth. However, a subsequent wiretapping scandal before the vote and a corresponding social media ban resulted in pre-election turmoil.^[7]

Sources: ^[1]Reuters, ^[2]Bloomberg, ^[3]Associated Press, ^[4]BBC News, ^[5]Al Jazeera, ^[6]Verity and ^[7]Africanews.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by CNBC Africa. During his tenure as prime minister, Jugnauth was able to maintain strong economic management and provide a secure environment for investors while securing a historic victory in reclaiming the Chagos Islands from the UK. Now that the country has chosen another team, the prime minister respects this decision.
• Narrative B, as provided by Semafor. Though the economy had rebounded year-on-year, Jugnauth had betrayed public trust through government-sanctioned illegal surveillance of citizens, opposition members, and journalists — demonstrating authoritarian behavior. Now that he's no longer in power, he must face the consequences of suppressing information and dissent.