Since 1967, Mauritius has experienced 13 free and fair democratic general elections to choose a government.
[2] If such candidates got elected (which was the case for five MPs from L'Alliance Lepep), instead of the actual division of the 62 seats over the communities, the historic average was used as basis for the best loser allocation.
It was formed in 1936 by a group of people including Maurice Curé, Renganaden Seeneevassen, Mamode Hassenjee and Emmanuel Anquetil, Jean Prosper, Hassenjee Jeetoo, Barthelemy Ohsan, Samuel Barbe, Godefroy Moutia and Pandit Sahadeo.
Due to a struggling economy and worsening unemployment from 1971 and onwards the Labour Party suffered a first electoral defeat in 1976.
It finally suffered a major electoral defeat in 1982 and Seewoosagur Ramgoolam eventually resigned as Leader in the following year.
Prior to the 1991 general elections Seewoosagur's son Navin Ramgoolam replaced Satcam Boolell as the party's leader in 1990.
Led by Gaëtan Duval in 1967 it waged an electoral campaign against its main rival, the Independence Party (Labour-IFB-CAM) which featured divisive slogans such as "Malbar Nou Pas Oulé" which translates into "We do not want Hindus".
In 2000 the PMSD returned as a minor partner in the MSM-MMM government with Maurice Allet as leader.
The MMM was formed in 1969 by Paul Berenger, Dev Virahsawmy, Zeel Peerun, Jooneed Jeeroburkhan, Fareed Muttur, Chafeekh Jeeroburkhan, Sushil Kushiram, Tirat Ramkissoon, Krishen Mati, Ah-Ken Wong, Kriti Goburdhun, Allen Sew Kwan Kan, Vela Vengaroo, and Amedee Darga[3] as a student activist movement and is still led by the same man.
Berenger collaborated with trade unions such as GWF to fight for the rights of workers to obtain fairer compensation & salary.
As a trade unionist, he was the mastermind of a series of strikes in the 1970s against political injustice and government domination.
Most prominent figures of the MMM (such as Ramesh Fulena, Berenger, and others) spent most of 1972 in the secret police's jail of Line Barracks for organising illegal gathering during which he also made public speech.
Soon afterwards Dev Virahsawmy formed a new party Mouvement Militant Mauricien Socialiste Progressiste (MMMSP).
In 1982 Berenger eventually led to the downfall of the Labour-PMSD coalition government as MMM won (with an alliance with Harish Boodhoo's PSM) all parliamentary seats.
The MSM was formed and led in 1983 by Sir Anerood Jugnauth and consisted of members of the defunct Parti Socialist Mauricien (PSM) of Harish Boodhoo, the remnants of the Independent Forward Block and dissident members of the MMM who did not agree with Berenger.
It restructured the country's struggling economy following the Labour Party-PMSD government which lost power in 1982.
The country experienced a major economic boom after 1982 due to innovative policies and Jugnauth's style of management.
Due to their common origins, the MSM and the MMM formed political alliance at various reprises (reuniting the big 'militant' family) in 1991, 1999, 2000 and from 2012 to 2014.
In 2000, Jugnauth and the MSM made a historical deal with the MMM in which Jugnauth agreed to retire from politics and eventually resign as prime minister after serving three years (in a 5-year term) to allow Berenger to become Prime Minister for the lasting 2 years.
The main reason for SAJ's retirement was for his son Pravind Jugnauth to enter politics and lead the MSM.
He remained President until major disagreements were experienced between him and the Labour-led government by Navin Ramgoolam especially as the Medpoint scandal case came to light.
A new alliance consisting of the PTR, the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM) and the PMSD won the election, SAJ became Prime Minister again.
The Alliance de L'Avenir won the election and Dr. Navin Ramgoolam remained the prime minister of Mauritius.
L'Alliance Lepep won the 2014 elections, with 47 seats, against 13 for the Labour Party / MMM alliance.
The MMM managed to have 8 of its candidates elected and received 1 extra seat as part of Best Loser system.
In the 2024 general election, the opposition Alliance du Changement, consisting of the Labour Party (PTR), the MMM, the New Democrats (ND) and the Resistans ek Alternativ (ReA) led by former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, won decisively with 62.6% of the vote, securing 60 out of 62 seats.
Pravind Jugnauth of the Alliance Lepep, consisting of the MSM, the Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD), the Muvman Liberater (ML), the Muvman Patriot Morisien (MPM) and the Plateforme Militante (PM) with 27.3% of votes conceded, acknowledges the significant defeat his coalition suffered.