Editing Mauritius (section)

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Mauritius}}

[[File:Government House Port Louis.JPG|thumb|Government House, Port Louis]]

The politics of Mauritius take place in a framework of a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] republic, in which the [[President of Mauritius|President]] is the [[head of state]] and the [[Prime Minister of Mauritius|Prime Minister]] is the [[head of government]], assisted by a [[Cabinet of Ministers of Mauritius|Council of Ministers]]. Mauritius has a [[multi-party system]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the Government. [[Legislative power]] is vested in both the Government and the [[National Assembly of Mauritius|National Assembly]].

The National Assembly is Mauritius's [[unicameral]] legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic. It consists of 70 members, 62 elected for four-year terms in multi-member [[constituency|constituencies]] and eight additional members, known as "best losers", appointed by the Electoral Service Commission to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented. The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), which monitors member states' compliance with the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights (ICPCR), has criticised the country's Best Loser System following a complaint by a local youth and trade union movement.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UN Human Rights Committee criticises Best Loser System|url=http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=59556590&Country=Mauritius&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Election+watch&u=1&pid=1764509560&oid=1764509560&uid=1|access-date=6 September 2016|publisher=Country.eiu.com}}</ref> The president is elected for a five-year term by the Parliament.

The island of Mauritius is divided into [[Constituencies of Mauritius|20 constituencies]] that return three members each. The island of Rodrigues is a single district that returns two members.

After a general election, the Electoral Supervisory Commission may nominate up to eight additional members with a view to correct any imbalance in the representation of ethnic minorities in Parliament. This system of nominating members is commonly called the [[best loser system]].

The political party or party alliance that wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister, who selects the Cabinet from elected members of the Assembly, except for the [[Ministry of Justice (Mauritius)|Attorney General of Mauritius]], who may not be an elected member of the Assembly. The political party or alliance which has the second largest group of representatives forms the Official Opposition and its leader is normally nominated by the President of the Republic as the Leader of the Opposition. The Assembly elects a Speaker, a Deputy Speaker and a Deputy Chairman of Committees as some of its first tasks.

Mauritius is a democracy with a government elected every five years. The most recent National Assembly Election was held on 7 November 2019 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, and in the constituency covering the island of Rodrigues. Elections have tended to be a contest between two major coalitions of parties.

The 2018 [[Ibrahim Index of African Governance]] ranked Mauritius first in good governance.<ref name="Ibrahim">{{Cite web|title=IBRAHIM INDEX OF AFRICAN GOVERNANCE 2018|url=http://s.mo.ibrahim.foundation/u/2018/11/27173840/2018-Index-Report.pdf|access-date=13 October 2019|publisher=Mo Ibrahim Foundation}}</ref> According to the 2023 [[Democracy Index]] compiled by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] that measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, Mauritius ranks 20th worldwide and is the only African-related country with "full democracy".<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 2012|title=African democracy − A glass half-full|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/node/21551494|access-date=7 April 2012}}</ref> The [[V-Dem Institute#Democracy Report|V-Dem Democracy Report]] described 2024 Mauritius as the 18th most electoral [[democracy in Africa|democratic country in Africa]] and [[Democratic backsliding|autocratizing]].<ref name="n001"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Office held!!Office holder!!Incumbency<ref name="foreign">{{Cite web|date=14 October 2014|title=National lists of precedence of Mauritius|url=http://foreign.govmu.org/English/Documents/List%20of%20Precedence118.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211032755/http://foreign.govmu.org/English/Documents/List%20of%20Precedence118.pdf|archive-date=11 February 2015|access-date=16 February 2015}}</ref>
|-
|[[President of Mauritius|President]]||[[Dharam Gokhool]]||6 December 2024<ref name="president.govmu.org">{{Cite web|title=The President of the Republic – Home|url=http://president.govmu.org/English/Pages/default.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209062453/http://president.govmu.org/English/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> 
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Mauritius|Prime Minister]]||[[Navin Ramgoolam]]|| 12 November 2024
|-
|[[Vice President of Mauritius|Vice President]]|| [[Jean Robert Yvan Hungley]]||| 6 December 2024<ref name="president.govmu.org" /> 
|-
|[[Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius|Deputy Prime Minister]]|| [[Paul Bérenger]]|| 12 November 2024
|-
|[[Supreme Court of Mauritius|Chief Justice]]||[[Supreme Court of Mauritius|Rehana Mungly-Gulbul]]|| 18 November 2021
|-
|[[List of Speakers of the National Assembly of Mauritius|Speaker of the National Assembly]]||[[Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra]]|| 29 November 2024
|-
|[[Leader of the Opposition (Mauritius)|Leader of the Opposition]]||[[Joe Lesjongard]]|| 15 November 2024
|}

=== Administrative subdivisions ===
{{Main|Outer Islands of Mauritius|Districts of Mauritius}}
{{Mauritius Districts Labelled Map|float=right}}
Mauritius has a single first-order administrative division, the [[Outer Islands of Mauritius]] ({{Langx|fr|link=no|Îles éparses de Maurice}}), which consists of the islands of Mauritius and several outlying islands.<ref name="gu">{{Cite web|title=Location – The territory of Mauritius|url=http://www.govmu.org/English/ExploreMauritius/Geography-People/Pages/GeographyPeople/Location.aspx|website=Government of Mauritius|access-date=22 January 2015|archive-date=27 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327103512/http://www.govmu.org/English/ExploreMauritius/Geography-People/Pages/GeographyPeople/Location.aspx}}</ref>

The following are the island-groups in Mauritius:
*Island of Mauritius
*[[Rodrigues]]
*[[St. Brandon|Saint Brandon]]
*[[Agaléga]]

The island of Mauritius is subdivided into [[Districts of Mauritius|nine districts]], which are the country's second-order administrative divisions.

=== Military ===
{{Main|Military of Mauritius}}

All military, police, and security functions in Mauritius are carried out by 10,000 active-duty personnel under the Commissioner of Police. The 8,000-member National Police Force is responsible for domestic law enforcement. The 1,400-member [[Special Mobile Force]] (SMF) and the 688-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services. Mauritius also has a special operations military known as 'GIPM' that would intervene in any terrorist attack or high risk operations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Background Note: Mauritius – Scoop News|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0901/S00160.htm|access-date=18 January 2017|website=scoop.co.nz}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Mauritius}}

[[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind Jugnauth, on the sidelines of CHOGM 2018, in London on April 19, 2018 (2).JPG|thumb|left|Prime Minister [[Pravind Jugnauth]] with Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]], 19 April 2018]]

Mauritius has strong and friendly relations with various African, American, Asian, European and Oceanic countries. Considered part of Africa geographically, Mauritius has friendly relations with African states in the region, particularly [[South Africa]], by far its largest continental trading partner. Mauritian investors are gradually entering African markets, notably Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The country's political heritage and dependence on Western markets have led to close ties with the [[European Union]] and its member states, particularly France. Relations with India are very strong for both historical and commercial reasons. Mauritius established diplomatic relations with China in April 1972 and was forced to defend this decision, along with naval contracts with the USSR in the same year. It has also been extending its Middle East outreach with the setting up of an embassy in Saudi Arabia<ref>{{Cite web|title=Embassy of the Republic of Mauritius – Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|url=https://foreign.govmu.org/Pages/Embassies%20and%20Consulates/Mauritius%20Diplomatic%20Missions%20Overseas/EMBASSY-OF-THE-REPUBLIC-OF-MAURITIUS---RIYADH,-KINGDOM-OF-SAUDI-ARABIA.aspx|access-date=19 October 2020|website=foreign.govmu.org}}</ref> whose Ambassador also doubles as the country's ambassador to Bahrain.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Presentation of Credentials of Ambassador Showkutally Soodhun, GCSK to the Kingdom of Bahrain|url=https://foreign.govmu.org/Pages/readmorenews.aspx?n=Presentation-of-Credentials-of-Ambassador-Showkutally-Soodhun,-GCSK-to-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain.aspx|access-date=19 October 2020|website=foreign.govmu.org|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade}}</ref>

Mauritius is a member of the United Nations, the [[World Trade Organization]], the [[African Union]], the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], [[La Francophonie]], the [[Southern Africa Development Community]], the [[Indian Ocean Commission]], the [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]], and the [[Indian Ocean Rim Association]].

=== Legal system ===
Mauritius has a hybrid legal system derived from [[British common law|English common law]] and the [[French civil law]]. The [[Constitution of Mauritius]] established the [[separation of powers]] between the legislature, the executive and the [[judiciary]] and guaranteed the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. Mauritius has a single-structured judicial system consisting of two tiers, the [[Supreme Court of Mauritius|Supreme Court]] and subordinate courts. The Supreme Court is composed of various divisions exercising jurisdiction such as the Master's Court, the Family Division, the Commercial Division (Bankruptcy), the Criminal Division, the Mediation Division, the Court of First Instance in civil and criminal proceedings, the Appellate jurisdiction: the Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal. Subordinate courts consist of the Intermediate Court, the Industrial Court, the District Courts, the Bail and Remand Court and the Court of Rodrigues. The [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] is the final court of appeal of Mauritius. After the independence of Mauritius in 1968, Mauritius maintained the Privy Council as its highest court of appeal. Appeals to the Judicial Committee from decisions of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court may be as of right or with the leave of the Court, as set out in section 81 of the Constitution and section 70A of the Courts Act. The Judicial Committee may also grant special leave to appeal from the decision of any court in any civil or criminal matter as per section 81(5) of the Constitution.<ref name="Constitution">{{Cite web|date=13 October 2019|title=Constitution of Mauritius|url=http://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/English/constitution/Pages/constitution2016.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826223209/http://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/English/constitution/Pages/constitution2016.pdf|archive-date=26 August 2018|access-date=13 October 2019|publisher=[[National Assembly (Mauritius)]]}}</ref>