The Human Rights Implications of the 'Best Loser System' in Mauritius

The 'Best Loser System'(BLS) is part of the Mauritian electoral system where a number of parliamentarians are selected on certain criteria which include their community. Since 'community' has a close link with ethnic,racial or religious belonging in Mauritius, the BLS has remained a subject of controversy since the independence of Mauritius in 1968. Originally entrenched in the Constitution to ensure a fair and adequate representation of each community, the BLS is now strongly seen as a system of misrepresentation rather than one to protect minorities. The present work makes an introduction on the workings of the BLS, the main criticisms directed against it before assessing the implications of the existence of the BLS from a human rights lens. Finally,a proposal for reform to conciliate different school of thoughts has been attempted. This work will be helpful to a large reading audience including law professionals, constitutional lawyers, law students, social activists and NGOs defending human rights, democracy observers and analysts, and any individual having an interest in the understanding of representation in electoral systems.

Autorentext

Krishna S. Seegobin, LLB, LLM (Distinction) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.

Klappentext

The 'Best Loser System'(BLS) is part of the Mauritian electoral system where a number of parliamentarians are selected on certain criteria which include their community. Since 'community' has a close link with ethnic,racial or religious belonging in Mauritius, the BLS has remained a subject of controversy since the independence of Mauritius in 1968. Originally entrenched in the Constitution to ensure a fair and adequate representation of each community, the BLS is now strongly seen as a system of misrepresentation rather than one to protect minorities. The present work makes an introduction on the workings of the BLS, the main criticisms directed against it before assessing the implications of the existence of the BLS from a human rights lens. Finally,a proposal for reform to conciliate different school of thoughts has been attempted. This work will be helpful to a large reading audience including law professionals, constitutional lawyers, law students, social activists and NGOs defending human rights, democracy observers and analysts, and any individual having an interest in the understanding of representation in electoral systems.