The president is required to uphold and defend the Constitution of Mauritius and ensure that the institutions of democracy and rule of law are protected, the fundamental rights of all are respected and the unity of the diverse Mauritian nation is maintained and strengthened.

The power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercisable by bills passed by the Assembly and assented to by the president.

The office of president was created on 12 March 1992 after Mauritius became a republic, 24 years to the day after it had gained independence.

Cassam Uteem was elected as the president in 1992 and 1997, he held office from 30 June 1992 and resigned on 15 February 2002 in protest at a controversial anti-terrorism bill which the government wanted signed into law.

In March 2012, Sir Anerood criticised the government, saying that the economy had entered a vicious circle of economic loss and the population was suffering.

The prime minister Navin Ramgoolam said that the presidency was an apolitical office and invited him to join the political arena.

After the return of Sir Anerood, the MSM concluded an alliance with the opposition party Mauritian Militant Movement.

Kailash Purryag was elected as the fifth president of Mauritius by members of the National Assembly on Friday 20 July.

[13] Her ascendancy to the presidency was facilitated by a constitutional conundrum that had gripped Mauritius since Alliance L’Avenir came to power in 2010.

In 2014, the Alliance L’Avenir entered into an agreement with the Alliance L’Avenir on the basis of constitutional reform which would have seen Mauritius turning into a semi-presidential state where the president would be conferred the power of dissolution, having a direct role in shaping foreign policy and, chairing government meetings.

[16] A person elected to the office of president shall, before assuming his functions, take and subscribe to the appropriate oath as set out in the Third Schedule of the Constitution of Mauritius.