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The reportElectoral Boundaries Commission The 2020 European Broadcasting Committee (EBC) recommended a redistribution of constituencies. The Prime Minister submitted a motion based on the report to Parliament on 15 December 2023. The report proposed various adjustments to the number of voters in certain constituencies, with six constituencies seeing significant changes in their number of voters.
Among these changes we include the Chagos Islands, previously part of the 3rd district (Port Louis Maritime / Port Louis East), now incorporated into the 1st district (Grande Rivière-Nord-Ouest / Port Louis West). The descendants of the Chagossians are concentrated in this area. This has led to a decrease in the number of voters in the 1st district, with certain areas moving to the 2nd district (Port Louis / Montagne-Longue). The number of voters in the 2nd district is increasing, as is the 3rd district, which benefits from the addition of a community in the 5th district (Pamplemousses-Triolet), thus increasing its total number of voters. The number of voters in the 4th district (Port Louis Nord / Montagne-Longue) has increased with the integration of parts of Terre Rouge, currently in the 5th district. Finally, the 14th (Savanne/Rivière-Noire) and 18th (Belle-Rose/Quatre-Bornes) constituencies are undergoing major realignments, with the 14th seeing a significant decrease in the number of voters and the 18th seeing a significant increase in the number of voters. 18, making the latter the constituency with the largest number of voters.
Incidence
First, historian and political observer Jocelyn Chan-Low recalls“Generally, a redistricting report is either accepted by Parliament or rejected. Given that it is a bipartisan Parliamentary vote, it is difficult to predict whether it will favour any particular group. It is important to note that the redistricting must be completely fair in order to rebalance the constituency sizes. The aim is to ensure fair representation of all communities in Parliament, even though some constituencies may be more populous than others. The process takes into account various parameters. It is important that the entire redistricting is considered, not just certain constituencies..
For political observer and constitutionalist Rajen Narsinghen, redistricting will have an impact on votes. He cited the first and second constituencies as examples where the movement of voters will affect both the government and the opposition. “Redistricting could favour the government in some areas and the opposition in others. In theory, redistricting should be done by an independent commission.”
Moreover, he said, in the past, no one dared to touch the constituency even if the report was submitted because of the legal obligation to submit the report every 10 years. No leader has tried to change the constituency. For what? “Because since the Lancaster House Conference, there have been specific measures designed to guarantee community representation. For example, the representation of the Muslim community in constituencies 2 or 3, in addition to the best loser system. Today, without these guarantees, constituency changes could undermine the adequate representation of this community. This is a sensitive issue. As a political observer and constitutionalist, I want to highlight this danger.”
In the past, constituencies 1, 2 and 3 were kept although they were small in size to ensure adequate representation for Muslims. This was done deliberately to ensure that the community was properly represented. On the one hand, there are mechanisms. Best Loser (Bureau of Labor Statistics), on the other hand, the constituencies are disproportionate. In addition, constituencies like the 14th or the 6th have a larger number of voters. It is worth noting that unlike the affected constituency (the 5th) Pamplemousses/Triolet, the 6th constituency was not modified. “It will definitely have an impact, but it’s hard to say whether it will be in the government’s favor.”
Furthermore, Jocelyn Chan-Low pointed out that overall, in Mauritius, most voters tend to vote for the party, taking into account individual candidates. As for the confusion among voters regarding the redistribution of constituencies, it is the responsibility of the political parties and the relevant authorities to make voters aware of the changes.
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