07/06/2026
"Nous vivons un moment historique décisif. Ce que nous allons promulguer ce soir, le projet de loi relatif à la Commission de révision constitutionnelle, est différent d'une loi comme les autres. Nous créons les conditions et les instruments qui permettront de façonner la société de demain, et plus particulièrement celle des générations futures. Ce sera le principal héritage de ce gouvernement.
Après sa promulgation, tout dépendra de la manière dont nos citoyens, notamment les jeunes et les visionnaires, s'approprieront l'espace et les outils que nous leur offrons pour faire des rêves de la République 2.0 une réalité."
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Madame Speaker,
We are in a defining historical moment.
What, we will be enacting tonight, the Constitutional Review Commission Bill, is not a law like others. We are presently creating the condition and instrument to shape the society of the future, and specially of future generations. This would be the main legacy of this government.
After the its enactment, all will depend on how our citizens, specially the youth and visionaries, will appropriate the space and tools we are giving them, to make the dreams of the Republic 2.0, become a reality.
How did we get here?
When we were approaching the last general elections, my party made public political proposal: change the authoritarian & mafiozi previous government while at the same time, changing the system. We were of the view that authoritarian & mafiozi decaying previous government was also, itself a product of an outdated system, which itself need to be changed. It was the reflection we had after Covid-19, Kisten murder, planting and specially after Wakashio Oil Spill.
We proposed a transition government of two years, to perform this prime duty and adopt a new constitution. In this context, we went on, to meet all the opposition parties, to discuss this political project.
What we are debating tonight stems from this process.
In some 10 meetings with the present Prime Minister and the former DPM, at River Walk, we discussed the proposal of sanz gouvernman, sanz sistem, based on a programme for a new constitution.
We finally agree that a new government will have its full 5 years mandate, and agree on the core element of system change, through fundamental amendments to the Constitution.
Tonight, the whole nation should also know that ReA, only agreed to discuss ‘tickets’ with our electoral partners, ONLY upon agreement on fundamental amendments to the Constitution including Electoral reform.
Just to let the nation know how important was system change, via constitutional change, to ReA further commitment in the Alliance du Changement.
Our 20 years of involvement in various struggles, made ReA a spear for Constitutional Reform in Mauritius.
But if we have arrived where we are today, we must also pay tribute to Jack Bizlall, Leftist and Trade Unionsits, the Platform for a nouvo konstitision ek nouvo Repiblik of 2010, the blok 104, and various movements, academics and opinion leaders. They are co-drivers of change of the Constitutional Reform agenda.
Madame Speaker,
We are in this defining historical moment, because it is the first time since independence, that the people, the electorate, directly and massively voted for present constitutional reform agenda, which were part of the Electoral Manifesto.
The Bill and its terms of reference contains I would say 60% of the Constitutional Amendments agreed and voted by the people.
Let me clarify this issue.
• First the Mini-Amendment to eliminate the communal classification of candidates in general election, is not in the Bill.
• Second, the much needed Electoral Reform is also not there.
• Third, Constitutional Amendment to enable the usage of Kreol in the Assembly is not included in the Bill.
They are NOT there, not because this government does not want to address these 3 critical Constitutional issues.
On the contrary, it is because the government want to go quicker and are already addressing these issues in parallel, that they have not been included in the present Bill.
The Electoral Reform, which would incorporate the issue of mandatory communal classification of candidates in general elections, and the issue of Kreol in the Assembly have already been the subject of two separate parallel processes.
The house must also know, that the separation of Electoral Reform was a proposal made by the MMM, since last year, and accepted by all the partners of the Alliance du Changement.
Having clarified the non-inclusion of Electoral Reform and the Amendment to eliminate the communal classification of candidates in general election in the Bill, ReA is eagerly expecting that the processes already started, follow its due course to build consensus on a holistic electoral reform proposal, to be brought to Cabinet and the National Assembly, by the Prime Minister.
Madame Speaker
We are in a defining historical moment.
I would postulate that the closest defining moment corresponding to the present period, would be the 1947 Constitution passed under british colonial rule.
It is always important to remind ourselves that Colonial Mauritius, knew its first set of social ‘governing legal framework’, in the form of the Code Noir: a specific penal, labor, and civil code designed solely to institutionalize, regulate, and enforce the system of slavery, now decreted a crime against human by the UN. The Code Noir legally classified enslaved human beings as "movable property" (biens-meubles) and set the legal limits of human exploitation, outlining severe corporate-style punishments (such as branding, ear-cropping, and ex*****on) for runaway slaves or acts of rebellion. Our pre-Constitution, in a sense, was the Code Noir.
Our first Constitution, under British Rule, in 1885, was aimed to protect the wealth accumulated by the ex-slave owners, as well as restricting the right to vote to the sugar oligarch. The voting franchise was tethered to strict property ownership and high income. Out of a massive population, only about 4,000 elite men (2%) were eligible to vote, while the working class remained disenfranchised.
When talking about protecting the wealth accumulated by the ex-slave owners, it is worth to note that the compensation paid to slave owners was around 2.1 Million Pound Sterling. If this sum were invested in a bank, at a Conservative Historical Average (3% Interest) it would yield 38.1 Billion Rupees today. If invested at Long-Term Bond, (4.5% Interest), it would have yield 603 Billion Rupees!
With the birth of the Labour Party in 1936 and with the workers and small planters struggles, the British finally had to brought a new Constitution, in 1947.
It marked at the time qualitative change. It eliminated the property clause to the franchise. It dramatically expanded the voting franchise to all adults who passed a simple literacy test—exploding the voter base from around 11,000 to over 71,000. This shifted political power away from sugar-estate oligarchs and towards the masses of people, specially the working class coming slavery periods and indentured labourers and small farmers, coming from India.
This 1947 Constitution was the exact opposite of the 1885 Constitution.
The events leading to and the 1947 Constitution itself, was thus a defining moment in the history of Mauritius.
Universal suffrage thus opens the door for the struggles towards Independence in 1968. The adoption of the first Constitution of Independent Mauritius, incorporated self-determination and civil and political rights, that is the first generation of rights. A major journey started in 1936, passing 1947 Constitutional moment, was achieved.
Our moment is similar. Like the 1947 moment and what preceded it.
In 2026, after 20 years of struggles of Rezistans ek Alternativ, militants like Jack Bizlall, the trade union movement, the small planters, fisherfolks, democrates, opinion leaders, ecologists and other citizens, we are now at the doorstep of a new era, likewise to the moment of 1936 to 1947.
We are at beginning of a new historical process, not the end of it.
Now, is to be born, a new Mauritius.
From the Old, a New has the possibility to be born. A qualitative historical leap is in process. As ratified by the electorate, a qualitative transformation and enhancement can now be sowed by us all.
A new sets of human rights, second, third generations of rights, social, economic and cultural rights, nature rights, digital rights, right to privacy as well as the right of recall, the establishment of a Constitutional Court, recognition of Public Interest Litigation, just to mention a few, are proposed to be included in the Constitution.
Madame Speker,
Allow me to expatiate on the Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, as recognised by the United Nations. It were very important human rights won after the world wide century struggles of workers and liberation movements mainly in the global south. Let me mentioned a few of them:
• the right to work, the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work
• The right to strike, yes madame speaker, the Right to Strike.
• the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance.
• The right to get the widest possible protection and assistance to the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society.
• the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family,
• the right to adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
• the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunge
• the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
• the right of education and health
• the right of everyone to o take part in cultural life, to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications;
It should be stressed that UN Covenant undertakes to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, s*x, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
With the inclusion of these rights in the Constitution, citizens will henceforth be able to have access the Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court on any violations of his social, economic and cultural rights , and others, and seek redress.
Madame Speaker,
The introduction of the principle of the Right of Recall, that is the possibility for electors to recall their member MP’s, in between two elections, will introduce the principle participatory democracy for the first time in the Constitution.
The introduction of the Right of Nature, will place Mauritius amongts the pioneer country in the world to have recognise that nature has a legal right on its own.
My colleagues have expatiate on the other new rights for a more democratic society, I re join them on the issue.
Madame Speaker,
When I say, that we are presently in a historical moment, similar to 1947, I am also referring to two elements:
First, the introduction of a new set of rights and freedom in the Constitution, have similar significance as the recognition of the Universal Suffrage in the 1947 Constitution, which created the conditions for full recognition of the civil and political in the 1968 Constitution.
Second, as we have seen in the 1947 process, some had opposed the advancement of society. In this period too, there will new forces, who will try block the movement towards fundamental Constitutional Reform.
We also all know how opponent to progress after 1947 Constitution, translated into divisions, how communalist tensions was instrumentalised, how these tensions culminated in ethnic based violence, bagar, during our Independence process time.
I sincerely believe that our society has grown up, is mature enough, to transcend these obstacles and contradictions, and to collectively, bring forward the gigantic leap forward awaiting us. Be it, on Constitutional Reform issues within the parameters of this Bill or others, like the Electoral Reform outside this Bill.
Second, we must factor in, the obstacle that will be put by those representing the ruling economic class and corporate interests, who will fight tooth and nail, for example against the inclusion of the Right of Nature or Economic and social rights in the Constitution.
This will not be new. We have already seen how many right wingers ferociously opposed the social, economic and social righs in the past.
We have recently seen the political right or even extreme wingers deploying their aversion to the very recognition of climate and ecological crises, in many part of the world. I bet we will see them in Mauritius too, against the Right of Nature in the Constitution. Notice is being given to our youth and nature lovers to get ready, as from now.
Madame Speaker,
Let me move to the last part of my intervention, to explain to the house, from where my Constitutional transformation journey started.
It was in 2005. More than 20 years ago. My party, Rezistans ek Alternativ was just born.
We are only a few. We decided to participate in the coming general election, without filling the compulsory communalist classification of Candidate in the Nomination Paper. We wanted to stand candidate simply like a Mauritian citizen, with our Morisianism, with our multiple and indivisible identities.
All our candidatures were rejected by the Electoral Commisioner. Mauritians were shocked. We seized the Supreme Court. And Judge Balancy said the compulsion of community based was a violation of Section 1 of the Constitution of Mauritius.
In a historical judgment he ruled that the 11 candidates of ReA had to be re-inserted in the 2005 elections. We were the first Mauritians to be able to stand candidate, simply as a Mauritian citizen.
This judgment was overruled behind our back, in November 2005. From this moment a fierce judicial battle unfolded.
In the 2010 election, several citizens join this struggle to stand candidate as a citizen.
We won, but were denied participation on a technical basis, rule of precedence. The then Judge, today’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court validate the Balancy Judgment, in a historical judgment.
In 2011, the issue was brought to the Privy Council, that said the we had a strong case, and invited the Local Courts or the National Assembly to deal with issue.
In 2012, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled in our favour and stated the rejection of candidatures, was a violation of section 25(b) of the UN Civil and Political Rights covenant to which Mauritius is a signatory.
The UN also stated, that Mauritius is at crossroads. Wehave to decide: shall we maintain a community based electoral system, based community classification of 1972, or shall we move to another electoral system, which will guaranteed the diverse political representations or other interest via a dose of proportional representation?
This is the challenge that in parallel to Constitutional Review Commission, we need to transcend in the very near future.
Madame Speaker,
Yes indeed, we are in a defining moment of our history.
The only ones, who will judge us, will be grand grand daughters and grand grand sons, when looking back 50 years afterwards.
In fact, it is precisely for them that we have a duty to transcend this historical moment positively, by bringing the Constitutional and the much needed Electoral reform.
Madame Speaker,
We are living in time of rampant global capitalism, with its existential crises, be it in terms of climate/ecological crisis, or in terms of war crises with possibilities of nuclear exchanges, which threatens the very survival of our civilization.
A small country like ours, who is permanently being subjected to pressure and even blackmail, from the powerful, have a duty to guarantee new rights and power to our people and the new generations, for them to survive, defend themselves, defand nature and the planet. We need to put the principle of peace promotion in the Constitution. The inclusion Peace, Justice and Liberty within our Constitution was also proposal accepted by government.
It was with above understanding too, that REA has proposed the Constitutional Reform for our country, people and future generations.
Madame Speaker,
Our comrades from Rodrigues have raised pertinent questions, which we as ReA shares. The commission will be space dedicated to them too. And rest assured that one member of the Commission, is indeed one of your proud Rodriguan son, Joël Edouard, a well known historians.
Madame Speaker,
I am proud, as 40 years plus activists, we are proud as ReA, as Lalians Sanzman government, to initiate one of the most important constitutional transformative journey of our time! Long live the new Republic 2.0!
This Bill deserves to be supported by both side of the house!
Thank you
Madame Speaker.
