Pretoria - About one million Mauritians go to the polls today for general elections, whose results could bring major political changes to the island country.
About 2 000 polling stations opened at 7 am and will close at 6 pm. The results are expected by Thursday afternoon.
Two rival political coalitions are vying for 62 seats in Parliament in one of the tightest parliamentary elections since 1976, with Constitutional reform as the biggest issue.
A coalition of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam's Labour Party and the former opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) has agreed to launch constitutional reform so that the president will be directly elected with more powers.
Currently the president is a largely ceremonial position and is elected by Parliament.
Under the proposed changes, Ramgoolam is expected to run for president and Paul Berenger, leader of the MMM, will become prime minister.
But the Labour-MMM coalition faces strong challenge from a coalition known as l'Alliance Lepep, led by former President Anerood Jugnauth, who has warned that the proposed constitutional reform would be a disaster for the country.
South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is currently in Port Louis, as part of the SADC Election Observation Mission which is observing the conduct of the elections.
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane is heading the SEOM on behalf of President Jacob Zuma, who is the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The Organ is responsible for the maintenance of peace and stability in the SADC region, of which Mauritius is a Member State.
The SEOM to the 2014 National Assembly elections was launched by Minister Nkoana-Mashabane on 01 December 2014 where she said the “presence and deployment of SEOMs helps to enhance the credibility of the electoral process and encourages the development of a culture of freedom of expression, association and fairness, which should be part and parcel of every election".
The SEOM is guided in its mission by the provisions of the ‘SADC Treaty’, the 'SADC Protocol on Political, Defence and Security Cooperation’ and the ‘SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections’.
In addition to Mauritius, South Africa has led SADC Election Observer Missions (SEOMs) to the Mozambique, Botswana in October 2014 and Namibia.
South Africa will also lead SEOMs to Zambia and the Kingdom of Lesotho when the two countries take to the polls in 2015. - SAnews.gov.za- Xinhua
