Constitution: Lalit makes a series of proposals

The Constitution continues to be at the center of debate. Lalit, who has reflected on the subject, has just published his proposals. In the document, the left party specifies that there have been “numerous superficial references” to “changing the system”, without specifying which system or how to change it. Moreover, these changes, if they are to bring progress, must go hand in hand with the mobilization of the class which will benefit from them.

The first chapter of the 20 of Lalit's electoral program published on May 10 mentions the Constitution. “When there is a common understanding among the oppressed classes about the type of society aimed for, during a revolutionary process, then a new Constitution becomes part of the revolutionary process. Writing a Constitution is not the job of some sort of “Parallel State Law Office.” It is not a bureaucratic process. Nor a task carried out by an elite committee,” says Lalit.

The left party adds that the Constitution “is born when an oppressed class overthrows the ruling class, then the previous propertied classes. But, it is always important to imagine what changes are necessary and to identify those which could, on the contrary, be erroneous, or even fatal.

Among Lalit's reflections with a view to a new Constitution, it is mentioned “Mauritius is its Territory, its Natural Environment, its People and their 'Ordinary Culture'”. “Our Republic is its territory, its natural environment and its people, all of which must be protected by the Constitution,” believes the party.

Furthermore, according to Lalit, the Constitution must in the future abolish the presence of foreign military bases and ban all warships from all ports in Mauritius, that is to say Port-Louis, Diego Garcia, Port Mathurin , Agalega, St. Brandon and any other landing point, and prohibit such vessels from our waters. In addition, he specifies that our airports must also be closed to war planes. “This means that an occupying army, like that of the UK and US on Chagos, including Diego Garcia, must be expelled and its base dismantled. This means that the treaty with India regarding Agalega must be made public, and any military installation there will also be unconstitutional,” the party adds.

Another proposition is that the Constitution must ensure that the state does not categorize people according to their race and/or religion, or force them to categorize themselves in this way. “The community Best Loser system must be changed, even in the short term, to a Best Loser system which would be a kind of proportional representation for under-represented political parties. This, while continuing to link the right to vote to residence in a constituency,” underlines Lalit.

Our Republic is its territory, its natural environment and its people, all of which must be protected by the Constitution.

According to the left party, if there is a new Constitution, it must provide for an extension of democracy. Notably, democratic control must be expanded to include decisions regarding land use and capital investments. “This control must also extend to the entire permanent state apparatus, that is to say the civil service, the police and the parastatals, with the objective of gaining democratic control over the all of big capital,” we mention.

Lalit further specifies that representatives must be elected and also recallable through a reasoned electoral petition. “A newly elected Parliament, as well as local and regional elected assemblies, must elect their president, then immediately the leader of the assembly concerned, such as the Prime Minister for the National Assembly. The Prime Minister would then present his cabinet for ratification by the Assembly, thus making them all revocable by those who elected them,” it is emphasized.

Lalit also adds that freedom of information must be constitutionalized, meaning that every person has access to any information or data held by the State or by any private company about them, and every journalist has the right to all information of public interest.

In terms of transparency, Lalit is of the opinion that the Constitution should provide that all treaties be made public. “Secret contract clauses, such as Non-Disclosure Agreements, must be made illegal if they risk covering up criminal offenses, compromising territorial integrity or national security, or hindering the freedom to seek new employment” , thinks Lalit.

The party also points out that the Constitution must ensure that all nominations for jobs or any other position of responsibility are published, including the names of the people, their region of origin, and their qualifications for the position, as well as the list of all candidates and their qualifications. In addition, the reasons for the choice must be indicated.

The left party also advocates new rights. He proposes that the Constitution establish an obligation for large landowners to contribute to the production of basic foodstuffs, thereby ensuring national food sovereignty.

He also believes that the environment – ​​land, fresh water, oceans, air and sky – must be protected from pollution generated by industries, industrial agricultural effluent, public transport, energy production and waste. . “The immediate demilitarization of Diego Garcia is imperative to remedy the severe pollution affecting our territory,” claims Lalit.