PMSD: The party to watch in the next elections

The Party Mauricien Social Democrat (PMSD) had a long story associated with great moments of the country’s history and linked to many ills altogether.

It is a historical political institution that has hitherto transformed the country’s politics since its inception. But today, it is bound to play an even bigger role in national politics.

WorldFutureTv brings you the story behind the closed doors of the PMSD and its plans for the future.

There was a time when the PMSD could have won the elections by itself, albeit for the hurried and shaky alliances built by the Labour Party to avert such an event.

Take the 1967 elections for example. The PMSD drew massive crowds in Port Louis and in cities and townships, and it was seen as a potential winner had the Labour Party not allied itself with the Committee D’Actions Musulmans (CAM) of Sir Abdool Razak Mohamed.

This became an ultimate move that sorely divided the Muslim votes during the elections that decided on the future of the country in 1967.

The Labour Party was also in alliance with the Independent Forward Bloc (IFB) of Sookdeo Bissoondoyal.

Hence the elections were fought between the Independence Party bloc which consisted of the Labour Party (winning 26 seats), the Independent Forward Bloc (winning 12 seats) and the Muslim Committee of Action (winning 5 seats).

Founded in 1956 by Jules Koenig, the PMSD was known as the Mauritian Union from 1946 to 1956.  Xavier Duval is the most successful PMSD leader after his father Gaetan Duval. During the 1967 elections, the PMSD won 23 seats, a feat it could not repeat again in successive elections, losing steam and becoming a small satellite party reminiscent of a long gone past in Mauritius history.

Sources tend to state that the PMSD is now focused with the General Population whom they call the Mauritian Creole community, but WorldFutureTV can tell the Mauritian readers that this is changing.

While the PMSD has long been a loyal ally of the Mauritian Labour Party, it also allied itself with the MSM and the MMM in the past.

But in the elections of 2014, it joined the Alliance Lepep, a coalition comprising the Militant Socialist Movement, the Muvman Liberater, and the PMSD. This was a historic moment for Duval with the party winning eleven seats. This was the best ever performance of the party since the 1967 elections.

But the impressive gains was not enough to keep Duval’s party in the Alliance Lepep, which collapsed after Duval pulled out of the coalition.

The pullout from the government has given Duval a new political outlook, certainly with the MMM waning away in 2014 following a miscalculated move by its eternal leader Paul Raymond Berenger.

Following the PMSD’s pullout from the regime, Xavier-Luc Duval was appointed as the leader of the opposition by the President of Mauritius.

In this position, and with his good track record in Parliament, the country is looking at Duval as the new force that could help salvage the country’s reputation and integrity on the international stage.  

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New Delhi

Duval also has the moral support from New Delhi. He impressed the Indian leaders during his short spell in power but he has a good track record holding various posts in the different governments his party had allied to in the past.

He was Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius and Minister of Finance in the government of former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.

Aged 59 (born on 28 January 1958), political observers in Mauritius and outside the country have one thing to say: Duval is ripe to play a bigger role in the future of the country.

Many said he is becoming a uniting factor among the Christians and is appealing to a certain percentage of Muslims – the traditional and historical voter bank of the PMSD.

However, the trend in Mauritius is also changing to the point that a fringe of the Hindu community is also moving away from their traditional political bases.

But why would New Delhi look at Duval as a potential leader who could run the country?

India has too much at stake in Mauritius and the question whether India has a hand in local politics or not is a given since it is known that the Indian nation has strong connections with the local political formations.

They need to get things clean in the country in order to avert a crisis that might risk their investments and their long term geopolitical play in the Indian Ocean. Thus their intent in looking for the right ally to support at the top of the country’s leadership ladder.

Hindu Split

Nevertheless, there is a political split that is appearing within the Hindu community – considered the majority force in Mauritius – and this might play to the advantage of Duval in the next general elections.

A source from New Delhi told WorldFutureTv: “The Hindu community is facing its own moments in which it has to make its choices. Vote for Labour en masse or for MSM en masse?

“They tried both recently, and it did not work well. A fringe of the Hindu community might simply abandon the traditional vote and make a solemn departure in the rural seats, that is instead of choosing the Labour or MSM candidates, they would have the choice to vote for the MMM and PMSD candidates,” said the source.

The source also said the PMSD has a better chance than anyone else in the No 18 constituency where the MSM has practically lost all credibility and would perhaps not even have a candidate in the list.

“There may not be a by-election in the end, as the PM would either be replaced after the September ruling at the Privy Council or be forced to dissolve the Parliament next sooner than later,” said the source.

The Hindu split is seen within the lines of the Arya Samaj, Arya Sabha movement.