National Assembly (Mauritius)

Mauritian National Assembly
10th National Assembly of Mauritius
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Maya Hanoomanjee Since December 10, 2014
Prime Minister	Sir Anerood Jugnauth, MSM-PMSD-ML Since December 11, 2014
Leader of the Opposition	Paul Berenger, MMM Since December 11, 2014
Structure
Seats	62 plus 8 non-voting members
Political groups	Government      MSM (34)      PMSD (11)      ML (7)      OPR (2) Opposition parties      MMM (7)      MLP (4)
Elections
Last election	December 10, 2014
Meeting place
Parliament House, Port Louis
Website
mauritiusassembly.govmu.org

The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic. 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.

It consists of 70 members, 62 directly elected for five-year terms in multi-member constituencies and 8 additional members, known as "best losers", appointed by the Electoral Supervisory Commission to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented. The Government is primarily responsible to the National Assembly and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members.

Constitutional Role

The National assembly is supreme and determines the functioning of various constitutional institutions of the country.

President

The President and Vice-President are both elected by the assembly for a five-year term.

Government

The National Assembly is essential to determine which party/group forms the government and therefore the executive of the country. As per the constitution, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of the assembly. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the President appoints the person who has the support of the House, or who is most likely to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the assembly.

Opposition

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.

Composition

The Assembly is made of up of 70 members, of whom 62 are directly elected in 21 constituencies. The island of Mauritius is divided into 20 constituencies returning three members each and that of Rodrigues is a single constituency returning two members. After a general election, the Electoral Supervisory Commission may nominate up to a maximum of 8 additional members in accordance with section 5 of the First Schedule of the Constitution with a view to correct any imbalance in community representation in Parliament. This system of nominating members is commonly called the best loser system.

The political party or party alliance which wins the majority of seats in the Assembly forms the government and its leader usually becomes the Prime Minister. It is the Prime Minister who 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.

List of political parties represented in the Assembly

A new assembly was elected on December 10, 2014 and a new coalition government was appointed with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as prime minister. The following political parties are represented in the assembly (based on the number of MPs):

Alliance	Party	Party Leader	Seats
Alliance Lepep - 53 seats	MSM	Pravind Jugnauth	33
	PMSD	Xavier Luc Duval	11
	Muvment Liberater	Ivan Collendaveloo	7
	OPR	MP Buisson Leopold serves as Leader in the assembly while Serge Clair is currently Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues	2
Parties with no alliance currently - 15 seats	MMM	Paul Berenger	7
	Mouvement Patriotique	Alan Ganoo	5
	Labour Party	Navin Ramgoolam (MP Shakeel Mohammed serves as Leader in the assembly as Ramgoolam was not elected to serve as MP)	4
	Total		69

Procedures

After a new assembly is elected, the President, by proclamation, may open the new session fixing the date and time of the sitting. The government message (replacing the speech of the throne) is read by the President. The Assembly normally sits on Tuesdays as from 11:30 AM when it is in session. The President acting on the advice of the prime minister may at any time adjourn, prorogue or dissolve the assembly.

Officials/Functions of the Assembly

The following positions/body have important functions in the assembly. They are as follows:

• The Speaker - The main function of the Speaker is to ensure that the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly are complied with. The Speaker interprets and enforces the Standing Orders and for the purpose of interpretation, recourse is often had to Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice, responds to Members' points of order and give rulings when necessary. The Speaker symbolizes the authority of Parliament.
• The Deputy Speaker - The Deputy Speaker assists and acts as the Speaker when the latter is out of office.
• The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) - The President acting on the advice of the prime minister may at any time adjourn, prorogue or dissolve the assembly.
• The Leader of the Opposition - The office holder is usually to level criticism against the policy and administration of Government and to outline the alternative policies.
• The Attorney General - The office holder is the national legal adviser to the government and the assembly.
• The Government Chief Whip - Along with the Opposition whip, sets the agenda for the parliamentary work.
• The Opposition Whip - Along with the Chief Whip, sets the agenda for the parliamentary work.
• The Government Deputy Chief Whip - Replaces the Chief Whip when the latter is out of office.
• The Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee
• The Deputy Chairperson of Committees
• The Clerk
• The Mace Symbol of Authority
• The Serjeant-At-Arms
• The Secretariat
• The Library
• The Parliamentary Reporters

2014 legislative election

Party	Votes	%	Seats
			Elected	Top-up	Total
Alliance Lepep (MSM–PMSD–ML)[lower-alpha 1]	1,016,551	49.83	47	4	51
PTR/MMM[lower-alpha 2]	785,645	38.51	13	3	16
Mauritian Solidarity Front	41,815	2.05	0	0	0
Rezistans ek Alternativ	23,117	1.13	0	0	0
Rodrigues People's Organisation	21,874	1.07	2	0	2
Mauritian Social Democratic Movement	19,338	0.95	0	0	0
Lalit	11,550	0.57	0	0	0
Rodrigues Movement	11,113	0.54	0	0	0
Agreement for Parliamentary Democracy	10,548	0.52	0	0	0
Les Verts Fraternels	10,191	0.50	0	0	0

Parties with less than 0.5% of the vote	61,714	3.03	0	0	0
Réveille des Jeunes	9,775	0.48	0	0	0
Social Justice Party	8,395	0.41	0	0	0
Free Citizens' Forum	8,210	0.40	0	0	0
Rodrigues Militant Movement–Rodrigues Patriotic Front	5,787	0.28	0	0	0
Malin Party	5,071	0.25	0	0	0
Authentic Mauritian Movement	4,071	0.20	0	0	0
The Liberals	3,256	0.16	0	0	0
Ensam	2,363	0.12	0	0	0
Muvman Travayis Militant	2,216	0.11	0	0	0
Movement Enn Sel Direction	1,853	0.09	0	0	0
Liberal Action Party	1,570	0.08	0	0	0
Union Patriots Ilois Mauriciens	1,293	0.06	0	0	0
Mauritian Workers' Movement	1,027	0.05	0	0	0
Socialist Front	1,005	0.05	0	0	0
Mauritian People's Party	585	0.03	0	0	0
Militant Lepep Movement	563	0.03	0	0	0
Parti Tireurs de Sable	542	0.03	0	0	0
Link to Build	448	0.02	0	0	0
Independent Forward Bloc	423	0.02	0	0	0
Ti Zwazo	398	0.02	0	0	0
Rodrigues Independence Movement	388	0.02	0	0	0
Mauritian Socialist Rally	351	0.02	0	0	0
Poor People Party	349	0.02	0	0	0
Mauritian Democratic Party	320	0.02	0	0	0
Mauritian Patriotic Front	314	0.02	0	0	0
National Liberation Front	271	0.01	0	0	0
Movement for People's Liberation	171	0.01	0	0	0
Regional Assembly Man-Animal-Nature	156	0.01	0	0	0
Mauritius New Generation Forces	145	0.01	0	0	0
National Socialist Movement	121	0.01	0	0	0
Mauritian National Congress	115	0.01	0	0	0
Four Cats Political Party	66	0.00	0	0	0
Mauritian Action Committee	63	0.00	0	0	0
Mauritius Party Rights	33	0.00	0	0	0

Independents	26,516	1.30	0	0	0
Total	2,039,972	100	62	7	69
Source: Electoral Commission

1. Of the 47 elected Lepep seats, 33 were won by the MSM, 7 by the PMSD and 7 by the ML. All four top-up seats were taken by the PMSD
2. Of the 13 elected PTR/MMM seats, 9 were won b the MMM and four by the PTR. All three top-up seats were taken by the MMM.

2010 legislative election

 Summary of the 5 May 2010 National Assembly of Mauritius election results

Parties and alliances	Votes	%	Seats	Additional seats	Total seats
Alliance de L'Avenir (PTR-PMSD-MSM) Labour Party (Parti Travailliste - PTR) Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD) Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM)	1,001,903	49.69	41	4	45
Alliance du Coeur (MMM-UN-MMSD) Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) Union Nationale (UN) Mouvement Mauricien Socialiste Démocrate (MMSD)	847,095	42.01	18	2	20
Front Solidarité Mauricien (FSM)	51,161	2.54	1	—	1
Mouvement Rodriguais (MR)	20,933	1.04	2	—	2
Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais (OPR)	18,815	0.93	—	1	1
Total (Turnout ~78%)	2,016,427	96.21	62	7	69
Source: electoral.gov.mu

See also

• List of Speakers of the National Assembly of Mauritius
• Politics of Mauritius
• List of legislatures by country

External links

• Website

Coordinates: 20°09′47″S 57°30′12″E / 20.1630°S 57.5033°E