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1886 Mauritian general election

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General elections were held for the first time in Mauritius between 11 and 20 January 1886.[1] They followed the introduction of a new constitution the previous year. The Democrats and Reformists (also known as the Oligarchs) each won five of the ten elected seats.[1]

Electoral system

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The new constitution provided for a 28-member Council of Government, which consisted of the Governor, 12 officials, 5 appointed members and 10 elected members.[2] The ten elected members were returned from nine constituencies formed from the nine districts, which all districts returning one member except Port Louis, which returned two.[3] Voting took place in each constituency on a different day, starting in Port Louis on 11 January and ending in Grand Port on 20 January.[1]

The franchise for the elections was severely limited; the right to vote was restricted to male British subjects aged 21 and over and who possessed Rs300 of immovable property or movable property worth Rs3,000, a monthly salary of Rs50, those paying rent of Rs25 a month or paying a licence duty of at Rs200 a year. People married to eligible voters, or the oldest son of a qualifying widow were also entitled to vote.[3] As a result, although the population of Mauritius was 359,688, only 4,061 people were eligible to vote,[1] of which just 253 were Asian.[4]

Campaign

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A total of 25 candidates contested the elections; led by William Newton,[1] the Reformists nominated ran candidates in all ten constituencies. The Democrats put forward nine, with their leader Onésipho Beaugeard running in two constituencies. The remaining six candidates were independents, one of whom (Arthur Pitot) also ran in two candidates.[1]

Despite the limited franchise, election notices were published in English, French, Hindustani (written in Arabic script), Tamil and Chinese.[5]

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats
Democrats2,70949.215
Reformists2,13638.805
Independents66011.990
Total5,505100.0010
Registered voters/turnout4,061
Source: Le Mauricien

By constituency

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Constituency Candidate Party Votes %
Flacq
(222 registered)
Charles Adam Reformists 125 59.5
Yves Pierre Jollivet Democrats 85 40.5
Grand Port
(273 registered)
Henri Joseph Portal Reformists 109 50.5
Edgar Gallet Democrats 62 28.7
Fabien Rault Independent 45 20.8
Moka
(187 registered)
Henri Leclézio Reformists 137 81.5
Onésipho Beaugeard Democrats 31 18.5
Pamplemousses
(270 registered)
Charles Joseph Planel Democrats 156 51.8
W A Edwards Reformists 96 31.9
De Evenor Chazal Independent 45 15.0
Louis Vigoureux Independent 4 1.3
Plaines Wilhems
(653 registered)
Célicourt Antelme Democrats 407 67.3
Povah Ambrose Reformists 194 32.1
Arthur Pitot Independent 4 0.7
Port Louis
(1,986 registered)
Onésipho Beaugeard Democrats 941 26.4
Gustave de Coriolis Democrats 879 24.7
William Newton Reformists 705 19.8
John Alexander Ferguson Independent 523 14.7
Georges Guibert Reformists 511 14.4
Rivière du Rempart
(163 registered)
Edgar Antelme Democrats 61 39.6
Louis Rouillard Reformists 55 35.7
P L Chastellier Independent 38 24.7
Rivière Noire
(115 registered)
Vincent Geoffroy Reformists 55 51.4
Thorny Pitot Democrats 51 47.7
Arthur Pitot Independent 1 0.9
Savanne
(192 registered)
Virgile Naz Reformists 149 80.5
Anderson James Forrester Democrats 36 19.5

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f HISTOIRE: Les premières élections générales opposent Oligarques et Démocrates Le Mauricien, 26 December 2011
  2. ^ Sydney Selvon (2012) A New Comprehensive History of Mauritius: From British Mauritius to the 21st century
  3. ^ a b Constitutional Evolution of Mauritius from British rule to Independence Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine Government of Mauritius
  4. ^ Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, p1394
  5. ^ Kenneth Ballhatchet (1995) "The structure of British official attitudes: Colonial Mauritius 1883−1968" The Historical Journal, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp989−1011