Constituency No 7 : election for a 38-day-MP

Saturday 17th August will be the Nomination Day for the election of one member of the National Assembly for the Constituency Piton/Rivière du Rempart (No 6). If the poll is really taken on 13th November 2019, the elected candidate will be a 38-day-MP. According to the Constitution, Parliament must be dissolved at latest on 21st December. He may be featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest laps of time as MP.

Unless proven otherwise, most politicians and the public at large do not believe that the poll will be taken on 13th November. They are all convinced that the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, will dissolve Parliament before that date. On Wednesday, the Labour Party has already revealed the name of its candidate. It has opted for former Minister of Public Infrastructure, Anil Bacchoo. He is a veteran who has a solid base in rural ridings. His candidacy is welcomed as a blessing by the MSM. The current Minister of Public Infrastructure, Nando Bodha, has been asked to prepare a dossier on the problems with the Terre-Rouge / Verdun Link Road. In the Labour Party, they do no believe that this argument will convince voters in Constituency No. 7. “We will neutralize this argument with the series of scandals of the government. The list is endless,” says a Labour MP.

The MSM will align a professional, in the person of Vikash Nuckcheddy. Former Attorney General Ravi Yerrigadoo announced his candidacy on Tuesday night at a meeting of MSM activists in Constituency No. 7. This Commercial Manager in a construction company is a political nominee. He is a member of the Tertiary Education Commission. The MSM will reveal officially the name of its candidate on Saturday.

What is important for this by-election is knowing how the pace of the Alliance Lepep will impress. This will establish the true intention of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Will we head towards the by-election? Or will he dissolve Parliament in September after the visit of Pope Francis? According to one of his close associates, the Prime Minister will wait until the graph of feel-good factor is at its peak to dissolve Parliament. “Political life is cyclical. It's like a graph with ups and downs,” he says.

In the opposition camp, it is considered that this argument does not hold water. “If that's the case, a Prime Minister is sure to be unbeatable. It's nonsense. There is a myriad of factors that come into play,” says a former MMM Campaign Manager.