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1976 Mauritian general election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 PartyParti Mauricien Social DémocrateMuslim 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

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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

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

PartyVotes%Seats
ConsBLTotal+/–
Mauritian Militant Movement469,42038.6930434New
Independence Party461,94938.0825328–3
Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate200,55916.53718–19
Independent Forward Bloc26,9022.22000–12
Mauritian Democratic Union12,5051.03000New
Progressive Socialist Party9,8070.81000New
Rodrigues People's Organisation6,3760.53000New
Mauritian Militant Socialist Movement5,3720.44000New
Progressive Party of the South2,2230.18000New
Republican Centre Party1,6360.13000New
Labour Unity Liberals8000.07000New
Mauritius Muslim Democratic League2660.02000New
Mauritius People's Progressive Party2490.02000New
Communist Party of Mauritius2440.02000New
Mauritius Muslim Rights2360.02000New
Mauritius United Party1860.02000New
Movement and the Mauritian Socialist Youth1740.01000New
People's Democratic Party1430.01000New
Union of the General Population920.01000New
Independents14,0211.16000New
Total1,213,160100.00628700
Registered voters/turnout462,034
Source: Electoral Commission, Nohlen et al.

References

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  1. ^ "Mauritius: 1976 Legislative Assembly election results". EISA. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  2. ^ Mauritius Inter-Parliamentary Union
  3. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p618 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  4. ^ Mauritius: 1976 Legislative Assembly election results EISA
  5. ^ Mauritius: Background to the 1967 Legislative Assembly election EISA
  6. ^ "Décès de Mᵉ Yousuf Mohamed Parcours politique: la grève de 1979, un intense moment de son existence". L'Express. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  7. ^ Selvon, Sydney; Riviere, Lindsay (1991). Historical Dictionary of Mauritius. Metuchen N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-8108-2480-5. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
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