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Mauritius: Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth Secures Himself A Five Year Term
Mauritius’ incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth has secured himself a five-year term as his party Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) has won more than half of parliamentary seats in the interim election results released on Friday, reported Reuters.
According to the election commission, some 723,660 voters, 76.84 percent of those eligible, turned out for the ballot. The turnout was 2% higher than the last election
The election commission announced the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won 35 of the 62 seats, while its rivals, the Labour Party and the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), garnered 15 and 10 seats respectively. Two seats were won by the Organisation of the People of Rodrigues (OPR) party.
Jugnauth, 57, was handpicked as the prime minister when his father Anerood Jugnauth stepped down from the post in 2017, two years ahead of schedule. He was contesting his first election since taking over as prime minister. He has already introduced a minimum wage to try and improve wealth distribution.
“I have obtained a clear mandate to continue to work toward progress and development in this country,” Jugnauth told his supporters after the count in his constituency.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Jugnauth on his electoral victory.
PM Modi acknowledged that he and Pravind Jugnauth have “worked closely” to strengthen fraternal relations and development partnership between India and Mauritius.
“Congratulations @PKJugnauth on your electoral victory. We have worked closely together to strengthen fraternal relations and development partnership between India and Mauritius. I look forward to speaking with you soon and to continuing our engagement,” PM Modi tweeted.
While the people of Mauritius choose 62 MPs, the country’s electoral commission will select eight more MPs from those not elected but who got the highest scores. It is believed that the system rebalances the distribution of seats between parties and communities.
