Private Notice Question: Rodrigues electoral reform still on the agenda

Amendments are being proposed to the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act to address the important flaws which were observed during the last 15 years that the existing electoral system in Rodrigues has been in operation. 

This statement was made by the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth in his reply to the Private Notice Question of the Leader of the Opposition, Paul Bérenger, in Parliament on Tuesday. “These weaknesses in the electoral system penalise the winning party and frustrate the will of the electorate. They are also not conducive to the political stability and prosperity of any country,” he added.

Sir Victor Glover was designated to prepare a first draft of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (Amendment) Bill. The proposals were then referred to the Ministerial Committee on Electoral Reforms chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Luc Duval. The draft proposals of the Committee include:

• Maintaining Proportional Representation;
• Gender Neutral Quota of at least one third candidates of the same sex for all parties, both for local and island region elections;
• Maintenance of two sets of votes, namely for:
• Two candidates for the First Past the Post seats; and
• One party vote for the Proportional Representation seats;
• Maintenance of a threshold of ten percent for entitlement of parties to Proportional Representation seats; and
• Introduction of anti-defection measures to enhance stability.

A revised draft of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (Amendment) Bill was prepared by the Attorney-General’s Office. A team led by Xavier Luc Duval visited Rodrigues for consultations on this document. 

With the approval of Cabinet, the proposed Bill was forwarded to the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) on 7 November 2016. A special meeting of the RRA was convened on 16 November 2016 to examine the Bill. However, no consensus was reached. Counter-proposals were made and referred to Cabinet. Following objections from the RRA, the proposal on double candidacy was dropped and the anti-defection clause has been deferred for further legal advice and consultation.