1976 Mauritian general election explained

General elections were held in Mauritius on 20 December 1976.^[1] They were the first general elections to be held since independence on 12 March 1968 and came nine years after the previous elections in 1967. Although elections had been scheduled for 1972, they were cancelled by the Labour Party–Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate–Muslim Committee of Action coalition government due to political unrest. The year prior to these elections was marked by the May 1975 Students protest riots.

The Mauritian Militant Movement won the most seats, but a coalition government was formed by the Independence Party (a coalition of the Labour Party, Muslim Committee of Action and Independent Forward Bloc) and the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate. Around 400 candidates representing thirty-one parties contested the election, but only three parties won seats.^{[2] [3]} Voter turnout was 88%.^[4]

Electoral system

The voting system involved twenty constituencies on Mauritius, which each elected three members. Two seats were elected by residents of Rodrigues, and eight seats were filled by the nominated "best losers".^[5]

Results

The best losers included Yousuf Mohamed and Harold Walter.^{[6] [7]}

By constituency

Constituency	class=unsortable	Elected MPs	Party
1	Grand River North West– Port Louis West	Jack Bizlall	bgcolor=		MMM
		Edouard Jérôme Boulle	bgcolor=		MMM
		Rajnee Dyalah	bgcolor=		MMM
2	Port Louis South– Port Louis Central	Kader Bhayat	bgcolor=		MMM
		Noël Lee Cheong Lem	bgcolor=		MMM
		Rajiv Servansingh	bgcolor=		MMM
		Kamil Ramoly (best loser)	bgcolor=		PMSD
3	Port Louis Maritime– Port Louis East	Bashir Khodabux	bgcolor=		MMM
		Cassam Uteem	bgcolor=		MMM
		Osman Gendoo	bgcolor=		MMM
4	Port Louis North– Montagne Longue	Suresh Moorba	bgcolor=		MMM
		Shree Krisna Baligadoo	bgcolor=		MMM
		Sylvio Michel	bgcolor=		MMM
5	Pamplemousses–Triolet	Seewoosagur Ramgoolam	bgcolor=		Labour
		Gyandeo Daby	bgcolor=		Labour
		Rabindrah Ghurburrun	bgcolor=		Labour
6	Grand Baie–Poudre D'Or	Mooneeswar Hurry	bgcolor=		Labour
		Madan Dulloo	bgcolor=		MMM
		Dharmanand Goopt Fokeer	bgcolor=		MMM
7	Piton–Riviere du Rempart	Rammesh Jeewoolall	bgcolor=		Labour
		Simadree Virahsawmy	bgcolor=		Labour
		Anerood Jugnauth	bgcolor=		MMM
8	Quartier Militaire–Moka	Veerasamy Ringadoo	bgcolor=		Labour
		Mahess Teeluck	bgcolor=		Labour
		Krishnalall Coonjan	bgcolor=		MMM
		Yousuf Mohamed (best loser)	bgcolor=		Labour
9	Flacq–Bon Accueil	Dwarkanath Gungah	bgcolor=		MMM
		Kanchandraseeh Bussawon	bgcolor=		Labour
		Vijay Jandoosing	bgcolor=		MMM
10	Montagne Blanche– Grand River South East	Ramduthsingh Jaddoo	bgcolor=		MMM
		Satcam Boolell	bgcolor=		Labour
		Jagdishwar Goburdhun	bgcolor=		MMM
		Azize Asgarally (best loser)	bgcolor=		MMM
11	Vieux Grand Port–Rose Belle	Radha Gungoosingh	bgcolor=		Labour
		Dayanundlall Basant Rai	bgcolor=		Labour
		Premdut Doongoor	bgcolor=		Labour
12	Mahebourg–Plaine Magnien	Lutchmeeparsad Badry	bgcolor=		Labour
		Lutchmeeparsadsing Ramsahok	bgcolor=		MMM
		Harris Ramphul	bgcolor=		MMM
		Louis Amedee Darga (best loser)	bgcolor=		MMM
		Harold Walter (best loser)	bgcolor=		Labour
13	Riviere des Anguilles–Souillac	Harish Boodhoo	bgcolor=		Labour
		Suresh Chandra Poonith	bgcolor=		MMM
		Swalay Kasenally	bgcolor=		MMM
14	Savanne–Black River	Hurrydew Ramchurn	bgcolor=		Labour
		Kaleshwarao Saccaram	bgcolor=		Labour
		Jean-Claude Augustave	bgcolor=		MMM
15	La Caverne–Phoenix	Kailash Purryag	bgcolor=		Labour
		Iswardeo Seetaram	bgcolor=		Labour
		Razack Peeroo	bgcolor=		Labour
16	Vacoas–Floreal	Rohit Beedassy	bgcolor=		Labour
		Emmanuel Bussier	bgcolor=		Labour
		Angidi Chettiar	bgcolor=		Labour
17	Curepipe–Midlands	Pierre Simonet	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Alain Maurice Espitalier-Noël	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Marie Ghislaine Henry	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Clarel Desiré Malherbe (best loser)	bgcolor=		Labour
18	Belle Rose–Quatre Bornes	Paul Bérenger	bgcolor=		MMM
		James Burty David	bgcolor=		Labour
		Heeralall Bhugaloo	bgcolor=		Labour
19	Stanley–Rose Hill	Jean–Claude de l'Estrac	bgcolor=		MMM
		Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra	bgcolor=		MMM
		Vijayanathan Venkatasamy	bgcolor=		MMM
20	Beau Bassin–Petite Riviere	Robert Rey	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Eliézer Francois	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Vidula Nababasing	bgcolor=		MMM
		Finlay Salesse (best loser)	bgcolor=		MMM
		Jean Claude Bibi (best loser)	bgcolor=		MMM
21	Rodrigues	Cyril Guimbeau	bgcolor=		PMSD
		Nicol François	bgcolor=		PMSD
Source: Government of Mauritius Bold indicates reelected incumbent MP.

External links

• 1976 Mauritian election day British Pathe

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mauritius: 1976 Legislative Assembly election results . EISA . 2007-11-15.
2. http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/MAURITIUS_1976_E.PDF Mauritius
3. [Dieter Nohlen]
4. http://www.eisa.org.za/wep/mau1976results.htm Mauritius: 1976 Legislative Assembly election results
5. http://www.eisa.org.za/wep/mau1967background.htm Mauritius: Background to the 1967 Legislative Assembly election
6. Web site: Décès de Mᵉ Yousuf Mohamed Parcours politique: la grève de 1979, un intense moment de son existence . L'Express . 2022-04-05.
7. Book: Selvon . Sydney . Riviere . Lindsay . Historical Dictionary of Mauritius . 1991 . Scarecrow Press . Metuchen N.J. . 978-0-8108-2480-5 . 203 . 2022-12-11 . en.