Around one million eligible voters in Indian Ocean Mauritius will go to the polls on Sunday amid an explosive scandal involving government figures in a secret wiretapping operation.

Since independence from Britain in 1968, the south-east African country has maintained a strong and vibrant parliamentary democracy. This will be the 12th national election.

Elections are usually considered free and fair, and voter turnout is normally high, close to 80%.

This time, however, the unusual drama of the leaked tapes sparked a national frenzy and dominated the campaign season.

Tensions rose further after authorities last week imposed a ban on social media until November 11, a day after the election. The unprecedented move sparked outrage from opposition groups and citizens, prompting the government to overturn it a day later.

Famous for its white tourist beaches, the tiny island nation has a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $10,000, among the highest in Africa – in stark contrast to the island nation of Madagascar, which has a GDP of per capita of 500 dollars.

This is due to Mauritius’ diversified economy, with manufacturing, agriculture, financial services and a growing pharmaceutical industry.

A nation of 1.3 million, Mauritius is also demographically diverse, made up of several communities that trace their ancestry back to indentured and enslaved people from Asia and Africa who served the colonial governments of France first and then Great Britain. The country was in the global spotlight in October when it successfully forced the UK to hand over the Chagos Islands after years of disputes.

Morisien, a creole of French origin, is the country’s national language, spoken alongside English and French. The rupee is the national currency and Port Louis is the capital.

Here’s what you need to know about the Mauritius election and the leaked tape drama shaping it.

What is the wiretapping scandal?

In October, a TikTok account under the name “Missie Moustass” (Mr Mustache) began releasing audio recordings that allegedly featured more than a dozen phone conversations of senior politicians talking about opposition members, police, lawyers, journalists and members. of civil society.

One of the recordings shows the island’s police commissioner, Anil Kumar Dip, appearing to ask a medical examiner to change the post-mortem report of a person who died after being beaten in police custody.

Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is seeking re-election, announced a judicial inquiry and suggested the clips could have been manipulated using artificial intelligence. His office instituted the social media ban to “preserve national security,” he said, although opposition members accused Jugnauth of trying to use the ban to minimize embarrassment from any further leaks before the election.

How does voting work?

Voters will elect members of the National Assembly from several parties on Sunday.

The parliament consists of 70 MPs, of which 62 are directly elected by the voters. A “best-loser” system means that the parties that lost the most votes are allocated eight additional seats based on ethnic and religious quotas.

In turn, Parliament appoints the president, who is largely ceremonial. The leader of the political party or party alliance that wins the majority becomes prime minister.

Who’s in the running?

Power mainly resided with three parties: the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), the Labor Party and the Militant Movement of Mauritius (MMM). These parties often enter into shifting alliances with other parties during elections to improve their chances of gaining a majority in parliament. Prime Ministers mostly come from two families.

PM Jugnauth (63) – MSM/Alliance Lepep

Jugnauth is running for a second term in the Lepep Alliance (People’s Alliance) – which includes the MSM, its leader, and the Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD). He has led the nation as Prime Minister since 2017, taking over from longtime former Prime Minister and his father, Anerood Jugnauth. Many in the country saw this as nepotism. However, in the 2019 general election, the MSM won 42 seats in parliament, keeping Jugnauth in office.

The MSM has a strong base of support among rural voters. This, along with an improved macroeconomic outlook, is the party’s biggest advantage going into the election. Jugnauth’s government is credited with a rapid recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, when GDP contracted by 14.6%. The economy has since rebounded year-on-year, according to the World Bank, and unemployment has fallen from nearly 9 percent to 5 percent.

However, many Mauritians still complain about the abysmally high prices of goods. Jugnauth’s government promises a 14-month bonus for public and private sector workers and retirees from December. The administration also wants to reduce value added tax (VAT) on water, juice, clothing and footwear.

Jugnauth’s greatest legacy will probably be his government’s success in wresting the Chagos Islands from Britain, which took the island as a condition for Mauritian independence and displaced the Chagoss indigenous people. After more than 50 years of disputes, Jugnauth’s government dragged Britain to the International Court of Justice. In October, the ICJ ruled against the UK.

Navin Ramgoolam (77) – Labor Party/Alliance for Change

Ramgoolam leads the Labor Party, the oldest political party in Mauritius (founded in 1936), and currently the official opposition in parliament, with 13 seats. Labor is allied with former Prime Minister Paul Berenger’s influential Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) and several others under the Alliance for Change umbrella. Labor traditionally has a strong support base of Indo-Mauritians and is seen as a key challenger to the MSM.

Ramgoolam served as Prime Minister from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014. He is the son of founding Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. Ramgoolam Junior’s reigns were fraught with controversy, with numerous allegations of corruption and sexual and drinking escapades. In 2016, police found $6.3 million hidden in his home.

While campaigning ahead of Sunday’s vote, Ramgoolam tried to highlight the wiretapping scandal. He has promised to pass laws specifically criminalizing wiretapping if his alliance wins, although Ramgoolam has been accused by some of being the instigator of state-sanctioned wiretapping: one of the leaked recordings appears to date from 1995, when he was prime minister. Ramgoolam also promised lower prices and higher wages and pensions.

Nando Bodha (70) – Line Reform

This third force faces tough odds against the two well-established alliances, but Bodha and his running mate Roshi Bhadain press on. Both men were previously in the Jugnauth camp, but say they want a change in the system and are appealing to young urban voters. However, some analysts warn that the party could end up splitting the opposition vote and propel the MSM to another victory.

What are the key issues?

• High cost of living: Rising prices of petrol and other commodities have pinched Mauritians. High prices have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic, although Mauritius is credited with being one of the African countries to recover the fastest from the disruptions. In 2022, a citizens’ movement began a hunger strike to force a review of petrol prices that had risen to 74 rupees ($1.60), accusing the national price-setting institutions of corruption. The price has now dropped to 66 rupees ($1.42), and Prime Minister Jugnauth’s Lepep has promised further price cuts if elected. His government also recently announced a reduction in VAT and a ban on excise duties on petroleum products.
• Crime and Drugs: Mauritians ranked drug abuse and addiction as the second most important problem facing the country after the high cost of living, according to a July poll by Afrobarometer. A growing narco-economy that initially peaked in the 1990s has returned. About 55,000 people between the ages of 18 and 59 (7.4% of that segment of the population) use non-injectable drugs, including cannabis, and synthetic drugs, according to government figures. Many Mauritians are calling for tougher crackdowns on traffickers and government-sponsored education and rehabilitation programs for youth.
• Corruption and transparency: Fears of a weakening of civil rights in the country are also growing, especially amid recent revelations suggesting that government-sanctioned wiretapping has been widespread for decades. Following the social media ban in November, some Mauritian citizens and analysts even called Prime Minister Jugnauth a “fascist”. Speaking to local news site Le Mauricien, activist Stefan Gua said the prime minister “has gone to dictatorial excesses, especially in recent months”. In November, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which ranks African nations based on overall governance and which previously ranked Mauritius number one, demoted the country to number two. There are fears that more downgrades could hurt foreign investment and tourism.