1. As opposition members pose questions, it’s hard to ignore the overwhelming presence of Speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer, whose main goal appears to be silencing anti-GM voices or outright expelling them—even if it means bending the standing orders.

2. There’s also the government’s age-old tactic of hiding behind the Companies Act to avoid answering questions related to Air Mauritius, Mauritius Telecom, and other semi-public agencies that operate in secrecy while heavily drawing from taxpayer funds.

3. “I don’t have the information right now. I’ll table the answer later.” This response is all too common, yet frequently goes unfulfilled. Last year, from March 29 to July 26, the opposition and government «backbenchers» posed a thousand questions. At least 281 of those questions, or 20%, remain unanswered.

It’s been nearly three years since the charred body of MSM activist Soopramanien Kistnen was found in Moka, and police have yet to apprehend suspects. This is despite the exhaustive report from the presiding magistrate, whose remarks, both during the hearing and in the report, are chilling. Now more than ever, emerging revelations showcase the mafia-like connections between those in power and those surrounding public institutions. There’s a dangerous blend of threats, intimidations, forged documents, bid invitations for medical equipment during lockdown, collusion of various ministries, the State Trading Corporation, fictional companies, contracts, jobs, influence peddling, corruption, and illicit enrichment. The list doesn’t end there; the ambiguous role of the police, the state of Safe City cameras, bodyguard behaviors, bribes, criminal instructions usually coming from the top, elections, and electoral behaviors are all implicated, suggesting a tiered justice system.

While we await the verdict from the Privy Council in the case of Suren Dayal versus Pravind Jugnauth and others, it’s essential to ponder the idea of a constitutional dictatorship that’s taking over public institutions. We’ve been saying it for decades: a constitutional dictatorship is initially hard to challenge—it operates within the law, but often in spirit only, not letter. Existing laws are augmented or replaced by laws more favorable to the oligarchs.

What are the primary democracy criteria? Most hinge on five categories:

- Electoral Process and Pluralism. Just because we’ve had elections every five years since 1982, are we perfect? What about the long-awaited system reform? And the same old names or dynasties having reserved spots within parties or in custom-tailored constituencies?

- Civil Liberties. Does allowing peaceful opposition marches mean we’re flawless? What about attempts by politicians (both ruling and opposing) to intimidate the free press? Or the scanty presence of women in the cabinet, or the lack of a Freedom of Information Act, or transparency in political party funding?

- Functioning of Government. Consider all the system abuses annually reported in audit reports or ask government employees shuffled around with every regime change.

- Political Participation. About 40% of undecided voters might disagree, as would government employees barred from talking to the press or joining anti-government protests.

- Political Culture. In theory, we’re a democracy. But in reality, the prevailing attitude in Mauritius is: stay under the radar, post comments anonymously, or face persecution like Hassenjee Ruhomally or Ish Sookun. Another prevalent attitude: favoritism coupled with opportunism!

Good governance and Transparency, two highly subjective terms, should be grounded in prior philosophical reflection. Otherwise, these standards will remain unrealistic, comparing countries with differing resources, political systems, press freedom levels, public health, education, economic relationships, and cultures. According to Joseph Stiglitz, who frequently criticizes these metrics, such a simplistic method of evaluating value through quantitative performance indicators doesn’t suit Africa, given its distinct historical backdrop, including colonization. And colonization isn’t just evident in places like Ukraine and Gaza; it’s also present, to a degree, in Diego Garcia and Agalega.