The general election has shown that Mauritius is winning. It appears people have voted with their brains rather than on sheer ethnic preferences. A 38-22 majority is not necessarily a comfortable situation for our new government. This balance of power exercised by the civil rights of Mauritians is crucial to the development of Mauritius through debated policies rather than a guillotine hatchet eliminating consultations and discussions propelled by a huge majority. So, the first step is to congratulate Mauritians and perhaps the next election will give the winning party an even slimmer majority so that the people are consulted much more. This is democracy coming alive in our little but very aware island. The level of political awareness has also been transformed by our new radio stations and the internet. People are no longer cocooned to think in isolation and the new generation of university students will exercise a greater influence on the pattern of voting by their parents, families and friends.

As a result of what the people have expressed through the ballot, I believe SAJ should put country first and his dynasty second. The new political awareness will force people to ask some key questions. How come we had three Jugnauths in government when SAJ was PM? Why MSM chose Pravind Jugnauth as leader? Why did Lady Jugnauth reportedly spend all her time canvassing for MSM/MMM? There is more than a smack of dynasty in this scenario. An attempt to pass on the mantle from father to son and a passionate engagement by the mother for her son’s re-election is a contravention of our constitution.

<B>Waving political banner</B>

The President of our country must be a guiding light just like Cassam Uteem who discharged this high office with great dignity and savoir-faire. Did we ever see Mrs Uteem waving any political banner? The First Lady should give the President a helping hand in discharging this honourable duty instead of becoming a political activist clearly campaigning for her son and his party. If so, she was undoubtedly using her position to influence people to oppose other parties when she should be impartial and not embroiled in campaigns. Was this a desperate attempt to hold on to Jugnauth’s grip on Mauritius? Did Lady Jugnauth feel that a new and permanent dynasty could be founded by Pravind becoming the first PM with his father as President? This bias and partisanship disqualifies her and her husband from remaining at Le Reduit. There can be no question when the Presidency begins a campaign to re-elect a government it has transgressed its powers and its priority. The priority of the Presidency is to see that there is fair election in the best interest of Mauritius. The Jugnauths have not upheld this basic natural law.

When a President and his wife show themselves to be above natural laws, then it is time to go and go quickly. We do not have to search for constitutional reasons and justifications to oust the President. He and his campaigning wife should show that they still have some sense of decency. They should pack their bags and vacate the Presidential palace. Any further delay and bitter wrangling with the current PM can only demean the Presidency. What Lady Jugnauth did was not right. She should put her hands up and apologise to the country. If she does, people will understand and they might leave with their dignity intact. If SAJ hangs on to the trappings of the Presidency any longer, he will make his way into the sunset of his political career with disgrace. That should not be allowed to happen because SAJ has played his part in the evolution of Mauritius. It will go down in history that he commenced the process of industrialisation and expansion.

However, the longer his dispute with the PM lasts, the more he will demonstrate to our country that he does not care about Mauritius anymore. The debate now should be how we can advance democracy in Mauritius and how the lot of the poor people can be improved. What can the PM do to improve our hospitals, our transport system, our schools and our welfare system! The priority is not how to settle a distracting dispute between a PM who wants to work and a President who wants to hang on to dynasty.

So, my view is: SAJ go now. Your wife tripped you up and you must accept the responsibility and do the decent thing!

<B>Paul Bérenger loses credibility</B>

The real revelation is the position of Paul Berenger. He is actually looking for a constitutional string to pull to help SAJ stay in office. He spouts various sections of the constitution and gives the impression that the cheque signed by Lady Jugnauth is nothing but a “faux pas”. Who does he think he is kidding? Paul has lost more credibility in this matter than anybody else. He is really showing that he thinks Mauritians are stupid and unaware of what SAJ has done. Paul must realise that nobody is above the law! For an outgoing PM, he comes out with the worst kind of gibberish. It makes one feel that Mauritians have done the right thing to kick him out of office if he holds views of this damaging calibre. I was optimistic that Paul would make a good opposition leader but this SAJ affair shows he has

little regard for the constitution, natural law and perhaps Mauritius. The only solidarity he is showing is partisanship which is very harmful in this instance. The best Paul can do is to seal his lips!

<B>Dr Taleb Durgahee

[email protected]</B>