Mauritian politics General elections on 10 December 2014

General elections in Mauritius in December 2014.
BY GDL
Now it is official, the people of Mauritius and Rodrigues and Agalega will cast their votes on the 10th of December 2014. Unfortunately those living overseas, even though they still hold a Mauritian passport, will not vote. This could be right for those who have opted for a new citizenship however I opine that those who simply have a permanent residence in foreign country should still be eligible to vote; but this is debateable. It could also be that the Mauritian Embassies or High Commissions overseas do not have the logistic and resources for such an exercise.
Anyway through the Mauritian media, which are now online, Mauritians and Rodriguans living overseas are following closely, and with much passion, the campaign trail. In Australia, for example, each time a Mauritian/Rodriguan meets his compatriot, the first question is " Ki to penser sa election la. Ki pou gagner? Encore Ramgoolam ??"
Then the conversation will be more analytical regarding the different parties and alliances. The real debate is why should there be alliances at every election? Why can't each party face the voters alone, and if need be, a coalition afterwards. This is a very complex issue as there have always been alliances since the 1967 elections. It is clear from the analysis and results of each election, a party alone cannot win in its own right even though they all proclaim to be national parties. So the leaders do not take chances and prefer to join forces to stand a better chance of winning.
The rationale is also that not all parties cut across all communities: The PMSD is a Creole-base party, The Labour Party is for Hindus, and The MMM is more an urban one and the MSM a rural one. All leaders have to compose with the reality of Mauritius which is a country divided into communities which most of the time, hate each other.  The "Unite Nationale"( National Unity) which is often echoed by Paul Berenger is a vain propaganda as paradoxically his party chooses candidates according to their communities and more so, their caste. Do not be surprised that the caste system is very present, alive and obvious in Mauritius.
So what is at stake in the forthcoming elections? Not much for the average citizen, the manifestoes of the parties are rather vague and incomplete. They all talk about eradicating poverty and job creation without explaining how they will do it. Then there are slogans and promises like raising the old age pension, fixing the economy, cleaning up corruption, etc...Playing like a broken record.
The people of Mauritius, are rather disillusioned by their politicians, Those in power  want to continue "jouir" and those who were in power yesterday did not "jouir" enough and want to come back for more. There are only a few new faces, no new policies, and no hope of a better future. The people of Mauritius know that " plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose". It is always the same gang who gets it all, the close friends of Navin Ramgoolam will still be richer and " tappe plein". A privileged group will have it all and the poor have everything taken away from them.
The scenario of the second republic is tailor made for Navin Ramgoolam to be the future elected President of Mauritius where he will have full power and immune from any scrutiny. To achieve his ambition and to reign for as long as he is alive, he managed to bribe Paul Raymond Berenger the leader of the MMM, by giving him the Prime ministership with reduced power.
The MMM people agreed to join the alliance of Unite and Modernite as they see this as the only way PRB can become PM after having been in the opposition ( not to say Karo Kann) for most of his life in politics. The militants are sick of being in opposition and be marginalised. Now they also want their "boutes' and maybe rightly so. However there are long time militants who do not concur with this view. Some of them like Ivan Collendavello and Luchmeenaraidoo broke ranks and join the Alliance le pep. But how will most of the disappointed militants vote? Maybe they will just abstain and they cannot vote for SAJ or his son Pravin or again XLD. This could be the posture of many intellectuals and bienfaisants in Mauritius.
Not voting can be seen as a not accomplishing one's civic right and not participating to the affairs of the country and if such is the case then they will  vote blank most probably. Vote blank is very meaningful in many ways, it can be a protest vote or telling the politicians I do not trust you or again you are not good enough.
The ides of December is not far, will friends continue to be friends after the elections when all is fair even though it has been foul.
The clock is ticking while the politicians are begging for votes. For once and for a short while the people are in power. Unfortunately not beyond the 1oth of December because after that date those in power will just forget the people and look after themselves.
GDL.