Africa-Press – Mauritius. The two main political blocs, namely the Alliance Morisien, led by the outgoing Prime Minister and leader of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM), Pravind Jugnuath, and the alliance PTr-MMM-ND, are pushing hard these days to finalize the lists of candidates for the upcoming general elections. Literally the near-final dash to present candidates. Cross-checking information from concordant sources as of yesterday afternoon suggests that Pravind Jugnauth, on the advice of the Top Guns and the political pulse on the ground, has decided on a formula of 40 tickets reserved for his party, 10 for the PMSD, 6 for Ivan Collendavelloo’s Muvman Liberater and 4 for Linite Militan, which includes Steven Obeegadoo’s Plateforme Militante and Alan Ganoo’s Muvman Patriot Morisien.
It is now time for discussions on the positioning of the candidates and the composition of the Shadow Cabinet, aimed at ensuring that the balance of power between the MSM and its allies is respected, particularly for constitutional functions. The negotiations that have taken place over the last few days suggested that Xavier-Luc Duval’s PMSD was aspiring to twelve tickets, but would ultimately have to settle for just ten, with the PMSD leader definitively positioning himself as No. 2 in Pravind Jugnauth’s new Front Bench.
However, at this stage of the campaign, one fact is not going unnoticed on the ground in the ranks of the MSM. Barely two months after his ouster as Speaker of the National Assembly to make way for Adrien Duval, Sooroojdev Phokeer has returned to MSM service. He has signed up for Back to Business in the constituency of Montagne-Blanche/Grande-Rivière-Sud-Est (No. 10). At the mobilization meetings, the man whom Linpost’s Deal Papa-Piti had thought to have dismissed from the electoral field, is showing off alongside Minister Sunil Bholah, given as a certainty in this constituency.
To this day, as in the case of the dismissal of former minister Vikram Hurdoyal and MP elected to head the list in this same No. 10, Phokeer’s resignation as Speaker on his hospital bed is shrouded in opacity. Even though the PMSD was toying with the idea of including the former Speaker’s resignation in the Rezilta Lor Rezilta table during Xavier-Luc Duval’s time as leader of the opposition in the hemicycle. Meanwhile, Soorojdev Phokeer, who benefits from his former Speaker’s pension, is lobbying MSM supporters for a Pravind Jugnauth 3.0.
As of yesterday afternoon, the PMSD was still struggling to secure another constitutional post apart from the MSM’s No. 2 government post. A possible appointment of Xavier-Luc Duval’s long-time close associate Azad Dhoomun to the post of Vice-President of the Republic was reportedly on the agenda of ongoing discussions between the PMSD and the MSM, but this would imply the withdrawal of incumbent Eddy Boissézon, nominated by the Muvman Liberater, from this position.
The leader of the Kare Kare party, Ivan Collendavelloo, is also said to have indicated his intention to be in the running for the next elections, despite his state of health. Bearing in mind that his case in the St-Louis affair has not yet been settled at the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC), the principal concerned could not in the meantime aspire to a ministerial portfolio in the event of his election to Stanley/Rose-Hill (No. 19), unless a decision in his favor intervenes shortly.
Presented as the Morisian Alliance’s No. 2 in the November 7, 2019 poll, Ivan Collendavelloo is also said to have called for two tickets to be awarded to the ML in Stanley/Rose-Hill (No. 19), as was the case in 2019, with his defeated partner last time, Seety Naidoo who could once again be a starter. This means that, barring any last-minute changes, the PMSD will be deprived of a nomination in this key urban constituency, despite the consequences of the revised constituency delimitations implementing the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission.
However, the blues will have a candidate in Beau-Bassin/Petite-Riviere (No. 20), with Guito Lepoigneur in pole position. In the entourage of the PM and leader of the MSM, it has been suggested that the question of ticket allocation should be closed by Sunday, while the positioning of candidates could potentially be reviewed up to Nomination Day.
2 tickets for ReA and Under Protest ethnic declaration on the agenda
Discussions between the PTr-MMM-ND alliance and Rezistans ek Alternativ seem to have reached an agreement between the leaders yesterday, with visits to the Riverwalk homes of Labour leader Navin Ramgoolam and Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) leader Paul Bérenger.
At the end of the day yesterday, informed circles were indicating that an agreement in principle had been reached, notably after a meeting between the Red and Purple staffs. Things have settled down with regard to the allocation of tickets, with the left-wing political grouping finally appropriating just two to form part of the PTr-MMM-ND bloc. The main issue at stake in the extensive discussions that have been taking place since last weekend, namely ReA’s position on the ethnic declaration of a candidate on the Nomination Form for candidacy purposes, given that the political formation has made this one of its main battles for over a decade, is said to have been settled.
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