SHARECountry Data
Mauritius (Republic of Mauritius) has a Unicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas at the sub-national level. 14 of 70 (20%) seats in the Assemblee nationale / National Assembly are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Apr 4, 2022
Single/Lower House
Assemblee nationale / National Assembly
| Total seats | 70 |
| Total Women | 14 |
| % Women | 20% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | BV |
| Quota Type | No legislated |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law | ‘Three councilors of a Municipal City Council or Municipal Town Council shall be elected from each electoral ward under the simple majority system.’ Any group presenting more than 2 candidates in an electoral ward [for elections of councilors to Municipal City Council or Municipal Town Council] shall ensure that the candidates are not all of the same sex’ (Local Government Act 2011, Article 11.6) and ‘any group presenting more than two candidates at a Village council election shall ensure that not more than two-thirds of the group’s candidates are of the same sex’ (Local Government Act 2011, Article 12.6). In addition, a list of reserve candidates for the election of municipal city councillors, municipal town councillors or village councillors, for the purpose of filling any vacancy which may occur between 2 elections, shall not comprise ‘more than two-thirds of persons of the same sex and … not more than 2 consecutive candidates on the list shall be of the same sex’ (Article 18.5:b). |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No | |
| Rank order/placement rules | Local Government Act | 'A list of reserve candidates for the election of municipal city councillors, municipal town councillors or village councillors, for the purpose of filling any vacancy which may occur between two elections, shall not comprise more than two-thirds of persons of the same sex and not more than 2 consecutive candidates on the list shall be of the same sex’ (Local Government Act 2011, Article 18.5:b). |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritian Militant Movement | Mouvement Militant Mauricien [MMM] | "The MMM, in view of its principles and its historic fight for equality, undertakes to achieve gender parity as soon as possible. As a transitional measure the MMM will strive to achieve the threshold of one-third of female representation in its bodies as soon as possible.in the party will gradually increase to 40% in 2020, then to 45% in 2025, and to 50% in 2030." (Article 3 (1) of the Party Constitution) |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
The adoption of the 2011 Local Government Act marks a positive development for the promotion of gender equality in Mauritius. In line with the constitutional provisions for non-discrimination on grounds of sex, the provisions of the 2011 Local Government Act are formulated in a gender-neutral manner.
The legislated candidate quota provisions of the new Act were implemented for the first time at the December 2012 local government elections, resulting in a significant increase of the representation of women in village councils from 5.8 per cent to 25.5 per cent and from 12.5 per cent to 35.5 per cent in municipal councils.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Local Government Act, no. 36 of 2011, accessed 03 April 2014;
OTHER SOURCES:
- Aimée, L. H. (April 24, 2012). ‘New Act Set to Increase Women’s Participation in Local Government, 2012’, accessed 03 April 2014
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Mauritius on iKNOW Politics
- Ramtohul, R. (2020). Women’s political representation in small island developing states : a comparative analysis of Mauritius and Seychelles. Small States & Territories, 3(1), 83-98.
- Yoon, Y. M. & Bunwaree, S. (2008). The Mauritian election of 2005: An unprecedented increase of women in parliament. Journal of International Women's Studies, 9(3), 13-26.