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The Government and Political System in Mauritius

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Declared a “democratic state” in the 1968 independence of Mauritius, holds the supreme law of the country. The country’s government is embodied by a parliamentary republic, a government focusing on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people. Rights from fundamental rights to property to rights to be free from racial and other racial discriminations are also upheld. The government of Mauritius has improved among the decades; from its independence to the present days. The Mauritian political structure is patterned from the British system since the country was colonized by the British beforehand. Likewise, in a Mauritian government, political party can gain support from a majority in a parliament; the parliament chooses the prime minister; and along the prime minister is the cabinet, completing the power.

The government is elected on a five-year basis, covering all the 20 mainland constituencies, including the island of Rodrigues. In the elections, it has been a contest between two parties. The prime law-making body of the country is the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale or parliament), a lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France, consisting of representatives elected from twenty three member constituencies and one two-member district of Rodrigues. Moreover, the country’s legal system is based on Napoleonic Code and English common law. The Supreme Court heads the judicial system of the country.

Mauritius is part of the Indian Ocean Commission, Southern African Development Community, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The country is widely known to be the best-governed country in Africa according to the Ibrahim Index of African governance.