“It is only in Mauritius that we have invented a trick to correct the corrections of the PR system to bring us back to square one!” MMM leader Paul Bérenger summed up the debate about electoral reform in the National Assembly. And that’s exactly what the proposed bill is about. In a nutshell, it proposes a minimum dose of Proportional Representation to correct the disproportionality of the First-Past-The Post system and then counteracts it with the proposal to have six to 10 additional seats to be chosen by party leaders. In the end, the proposed system is worse than the one we have currently.

Did the government seriously think it was going to sweet-talk the MMM to buy into this proposal? Not judging by the debates that took place over the last few days, some of which were epic. Even Ravi Ratnah excelled in what he does best: from his coining of words in the French language to the demonstration of his inexistent general knowledge of anything at all, he surpassed Mr. ‘Don’t do gestures with me’ by using the expression “When the ration is over” (Quand ration fini) and then carried on with his monologue, totally oblivious to the embarrassment of his own colleagues and the hilarity that submerged the whole National Assembly. His colleagues took it in turns to pander at times and threaten at others as suited the occasion. In the end, what looked like a defeat was in fact a great victory for the MSM government.

The fact of the matter is that the proposal was never meant to go through anyway. Neither the MSM nor the MMM, let alone the country would gain anything from it. The MSM knows better than anyone else that the MMM would never settle for reform that is not even as good for them as the one proposed in 2002. And the other opposition parties had already done the math, deciding that they would not put their names to a bill that would make the Best Loser System look like a patriotic system in comparison. So why bother?

There are several reasons for both the content and the timing of the MSM’s game. Firstly, for a few weeks, our attention has been riveted on the so-called reform bill. That takes our minds and headlines away from pressing issues like the citizens in Cottage living in hell every time there are a few drops of rain and the resulting tragedy that they have to live through. We have already forgotten about the drug situation which is getting worse and worse, even by the government’s own figures. We no longer talk about the terrible traffic jams and the chaos on our roads. No one is talking about law and order. Heck, no one is even talking about the money being squandered by ministers and their appointees! We are busy with more important matters that will change the way we vote and the consideration of who we will elect!

Secondly, one should not forget the spin-doctoring around a prime minister who has presented electoral reform and an opposition which is not modern enough to accept it. This meal will be served to us by our national broadcaster every evening for a long time.

More importantly, while we are discussing matters of such significance, other issues important to the population – like village elections – can be postponed until the end of this government’s mandate. You all remember the excuse they gave for not holding such elections. So no risk of losing votes to their worst enemies and no humiliation similar to the one they registered during the by-election in Belle Rose/ Quatre Bornes!

All these benefits accrue to those in power just by presenting a botched up bill that even their own MP, Anwar Husnoo, would probably have voted down, in spite of the Rs15-million gift he has received from the government.

So who said the MSM have lost? They won all the way!

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