Mauritius Hit by Unrest After Vote, Focus Turns to Count

Kamlesh Bhuckory
·2-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Several incidents of unrest were reported in Mauritius after voting drew to a close in Sunday’s general elections, and leaders of the main political alliances called for calm as the focus turned to the tallying of results.

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Video from local media outlets showed a beefed-up police presence at polling stations in the southeast of the achipelago’s main island. Three officials were assaulted in a constituency close to the capital, Port Louis, according to other reports, and opposition supporters were searching vehicles.

“Cars of several officials have been damaged and some of them have been roughed up,” Electoral Commissioner Irfan Rahman said. An unknown number of civil servants couldn’t go home because of worries about safety and remained in counting centers, he said in a video message released late Sunday.

Incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, leader of the Alliance Lepep, is seeking a third straight term as leader of the Indian Ocean island nation. His main challenger is Navinchandra Ramgoolam, a three-term prime minister who was voted out in 2014 and leads the four-party Alliance du Changement.

“I appeal to everyone to remain calm and not give in to provocation. Let us remain vigilant and respect the law. We are on the eve of a great victory,” Ramgoolam was cited by defimedia.info as saying.

Jugnauth also appealed for calm in a posting on his official Facebook page and urged supporters “not to respond to provocation from the opposition” as the “priority is the security of our population.”

Polls closed at 6 p.m. local time on Sunday. Turnout as of 5 p.m. was almost 77%, the electoral commission said, similar to five years ago.

All sealed ballot boxes had been delivered to the counting centers and had been placed under guard, the police commissioner’s office said in a statement on Monday. All necessary steps would be taken to ensure the process unfolded smoothly and that public order is maintained, it added.

The Mauritian rupee weakened 0.4% against the dollar by 11:30 a.m. on Monday.

(Updates with comment from police in last paragraph.)

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