General elections were held in Mauritius on 9 March 1959.[1] The result was a victory for the Labour Party, which won 24 of the 40 seats.[2][3] They were the first elections in Mauritius to be held with universal suffrage.[4]
Electoral system edit
The Mauritius (Constitution) Order in Council 1958 provided for a Legislative Council with 40 members elected from single-member constituencies. Voters had to be aged 21 or over.[1] A total of 208,684 people were registered to vote, of which 122,310 were non-Muslim Indo-Mauritians, 32,866 were Muslim Indo-Mauritians, 50,381 were general population and 3,127 were Sino-Mauritians.[1]
Campaign edit
A total of 159 candidates contested the elections, with all 40 constituencies having at least two candidates.[1]
Results edit
Voter turnout was 91.3%, ranging from 83.6% in the Stanley constituency to 95.6% in Moka.[1][5]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 24 | |||
| Independent Forward Bloc | 6 | |||
| Muslim Committee of Action | 5 | |||
| Mauritian Social Democrat Party | 3 | |||
| Independents | 2 | |||
| Total | 40 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 208,684 | – | ||
| Source: African Elections Database, Electoral Commission[1] | ||||
Aftermath edit
Following the elections, petitions were submitted to overturn the results in Curepipe, Piton, Port Louis Maritime, Riviere des Anguilles and Vieux Grant Port constituencies. The petitions for Piton, Port Louis Maritime and Vieux Grant Port were withdrawn, but the Supreme Court annulled the results of the Curepipe and Riviere des Anguilles votes.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Report on the Mauritius Legislative Council General Elections, 1959 Electoral Commission
- ^ Elections in Mauritius African Elections Database
- ^ "Results of 1959 elections in Port Louis Central (Constituency No.4)" (PDF). Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
- ^ Mauritius: History Archived 2017-09-24 at the Wayback Machine The Commonwealth
- ^ "1959 official results of General Elections". Office of Electoral Commissioner. Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2020-07-12.