Sidelining Muslim community is a communal electoral reform sham
Is the Muslim community facing a future political death? This is the question many are asking.
In this context, WFTV interviewed a member of a youth organisation fighting for righteousness and justice.
He says there is a clear agenda to remove the Best Loser System (BLS).
“Sooner or later, they will eliminate the BLS. If it is not this government that will do it, it will be the next,” he says to WFTV.
He believes the political agenda is to squeeze some communities, particularly the most vulnerable ones.
The Muslim community he says fall in this category. But the trend among Mauritian politicians is to ignore their plight in the wake of the electoral boundaries review.
“The Muslim Members of Parliament (MP) are also absent in this context. They are not engaging the Muslims on the issues related to this thorny subject,”
Speaking as a Mauritian Muslim, he adds that with 18-19% of Muslims in the country (if not more), they should have 11-12 seats in Parliament.
“According to the percentage of the population, we should have 12 seats in the Parliament. But with the ongoing trend, we fear there will be a reduction in Muslim MP’s seat.
“Hence, we are calling for an ideal reform of the system to guarantee the Muslims enough seats, or 12 seats. We have no problem if they remove the BLS, just like they removed the Muslim Personal Law,” he says.
He says he wants to have his say at the Electoral Boundary Commission.
“There is a hypocrisy in the system. It says we should not be motivated by communal concerns when it comes to boundaries. But it is no secret that political parties practice communalism in ticket distribution for elections.
The problem he says is the MP’s want the support of Muslim voters, but they do not work or defend the Muslims voters in the end.
“When it comes to raising their voices for the Muslim community, they all fear of being taxed communal but bargaining/betting on Muslim vote bank in some constituencies to get their tickets and elected is not seen as being racist and communal,” he lambasts.
He says speaking as a young educated social worker, he wants to see a country preparing his generation for a brighter future.
“Mauritius must prepare itself for the future where anyone from whichever ethnicity or community can become the Prime Minister of Mauritius.
“If we are taking electoral reform seriously, why not change history and re-design all constituencies. This will allow for change. It will force political figures to push the best of themselves. Mauritians at large will have better choices to make. Things must not be based on casteist or ethnic lineage,” he says.