Official results show former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam won a third term in the Indian Ocean nation.

Opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in Mauritius, the electoral commission said.

The Rangoolam and Alliance for Change (ADC) coalition won 62.6 per cent of the votes, securing the three-time former prime minister’s fourth term as president, the Office of the Electoral Commissioner said on Tuesday.

The ADC won 60 of the 62 seats in the National Assembly, state broadcaster Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“The people’s court has given its verdict and a new Mauritius is awakening,” Rangoolam, 77, told the crowd of supporters amid loud cheers and honking horns.

Ramgoolam served as prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014.

In addition to the 60 seats for Mauritius, two seats were allocated for Rodrigues Island and a further eight seats under the so-called “best loser” system.

The winner-take-all electoral model means that single coalitions often dominate parliament.

‘Speaking is free’

Incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth had admitted on Monday that the Lepep alliance led by the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) was “heading for a major defeat”.

“The people chose another team to govern the country,” Jugnauth, who has served as prime minister since 2017, told reporters.

Just last month, the 62-year-old prime minister was celebrating a historic agreement that saw Britain cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running dispute.

But an explosive wiretapping scandal overshadowed the vote when secretly recorded phone conversations of politicians, diplomats, civil society members and journalists were leaked online.

Following his landslide victory, Ramgoolam said he would first “dismantle the espionage system” of the country so that Mauritians could have freedom of speech.

economic difficulties

During the campaign, both sides promised to improve the majority of Mauritians struggling to make ends meet despite strong economic growth.

Measures outlined in the Alliance for Change manifesto include creating a fund to support families facing hardship, free public transport, increasing pensions and reducing fuel prices, as well as efforts to fight corruption and support the green economy.

It also called for constitutional and electoral reforms, including changing the way the president and speaker of the parliament are elected.

At least one million people registered to vote on Sunday in the 12th election since Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.

Located approximately 2,000 km (1,240 mi) off the east coast of Africa, Mauritius is considered one of the continent’s most stable democracies and has developed a successful economy supported by the financial, tourism and agricultural sectors since gaining independence.

Both Jugnauth and Ramgoolam are members of the dynasties that have dominated the leadership of Mauritius since independence.

Ramgoolam, who previously worked as a doctor and lawyer, is the son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who led Mauritius to independence from Britain.