Mauritius heads to the polls in wake of wiretapping scandal

The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius will hold a national election Sunday, where Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth seeks to win a second term as leader of a nation often praised as one of Africa's success stories.

Mauritius, which sits about 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) off Africa's east coast, is recognised as one of the continent's most stable democracies and has developed a successful economy underpinned by its finance, tourism and agricultural sectors since independence from Britain in 1968.

Jugnauth, 62, has been prime minister since 2017, when he succeeded his father.

An alliance of parties led by his center-left Militant Socialist Movement won a majority of seats in Parliament to cement his leadership in 2019.

Mauritius has a long history of parties joining in alliances to contest elections.

The MSM has led the government since 2009.

Jugnauth's five-party People's Alliance will be challenged by opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam's Alliance for Change in this weekend's election.

Mauritians will vote for 62 seats in Parliament, and the party or alliance with a majority forms the government and chooses the prime minister.

Another eight lawmakers are nominated by the Electoral Supervisory Council.

The World Bank has described Mauritius, a former colony of sugar plantations, as a “beacon of success for sub-Saharan Africa” and says it has achieved remarkable economic growth since independence.

Mauritius was briefly rated a high-income country in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic set it back.

It is still has one of the highest standards of living in Africa.

The island, well known to tourists for its idyllic tropical beaches, has a population of just over 1 million people.

It ranks second in Africa behind Seychelles on the Human Development Index, which ranks quality of life for citizens and takes into account life expectancy, access to education and per capita income.

The country has a strong Indian influence. More than 60% of Mauritians have Indian heritage and people speak Mauritian Creole, a French-based language with some English and other influences.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a U.S. Congress-funded academic institution, said Mauritius’ stability and strong governance have made it a popular destination for financial investment.

“This has translated into high-quality health care, increased educational opportunities, and a 22% increase in per capita income over the past decade,” the centre said in a pre-election analysis.

Jugnauth's own image was burnished last month when the British government agreed to give sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Mauritius had claimed the archipelago as its territory for more than 50 years.

Yet a countrywide ban on social media a week ago in response to a wiretapping scandal raised criticism of Jugnauth's government and prompted some political turmoil soon before the election.

Nicole Beardsworth, a political researcher at Johannesburg's University of Witwatersrand, said some Mauritians were also left unhappy after allegations of irregularities in the 2019 election.

The wiretapping scandal saw recordings of the private conversations of politicians, police officers, business figures and others published online, leading the government to block social media sites.

The ban was initially ordered to remain in place until after the election but has been lifted.

It raised questions from critics if authorities were behind the wiretapping.

The Reporters Without Borders organization, which promotes the right to freedom of information and the independence of the media, said five well-known Mauritian journalists were also tapped and had their conversations leaked, and called for an investigation.

The scandal indicated “a widespread system of surveillance,” in Mauritius, the group said.