The political landscape was turned upside down by the resignation of Vikram Hurdoyal as deputy for constituency no. 10 (Montagne-Blanche/GRSE) announced last Tuesday. Could this decision disrupt the government's plans for the achievements envisaged by the end of the year? Will the Prime Minister be able to stay the course despite these upheavals? These are all questions asked.
Prime Minister (PM), Pravind Jugnauth, made this clear Wednesday morning at State House. “Under the law, there will be a by-election. I hope that the parliamentary opposition and especially its leader, Dr Navin Ramgoolam, will participate. It is logical that he is a candidate,” he told the press shortly after the swearing in of the new Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Naveena Ramyad.
From the outset, observer Faizal Jeerooburkhan indicates that the resignation of Vikram Hurdoyal definitively disrupts the government's plans. ” It's obvious ! », he says. At the start of the year, the PM suggested that general elections could be held no later than 2025. “Pravind Jugnauth seemed to want to capitalize on the major projects in progress to hope to win the next general elections. But it is now obvious that he finds himself in a new situation,” said the observer.
Believing that the PM “no longer has any room for maneuver because the situation has changed”, Faizal Jeerooburkhan considers that the government is engaged in a race against time. In accordance with the law, it has 240 days to organize a by-election after the resignation of a parliamentarian. In other words, the “Writ of Election” is issued within 90 days, followed by the “Nomination Day” which must take place 60 days after the issuance of the “writ” and the by-election must be held on later 90 days later.
Major projects in nine months
Foreign observer Milan Meetarbhan points out that the National Assembly will be automatically dissolved (in accordance with the law) in November, after five years in office. “A transitional government cannot concentrate and complete the implementation of major projects in just nine months. This is why I insist on the fact that any government respecting democratic principles must not make major commitments beyond the constitutional mandate of the parliamentary majority,” he believes.
Within the government, there is agreement that “the majority of projects will be completed before the end of the year”. One of the big projects on which the government plans to capitalize during the next elections is the delivery of 8,000 houses from the New Social Living Development Co. Ltd.
“The first batches of houses will be delivered, as planned, within the next three months,” explains the management of the organization. The delivery of the houses will take place gradually over the course of the year,” it is emphasized.
As for the A1M1 suspension bridge linking Coromandel to Sorèze, it will be inaugurated this Thursday. “The Wooton and St-Pierre interchanges will be inaugurated as planned in a few months. The Ebène flyover as well as the Terre-Rouge flyover will also be operational before the end of the mandate,” say government sources.
The Daily Challenge is also witnessing reports that the new airstrip and jetty at Agalega will be inaugurated in about two weeks.
What about the 2024-25 Budget? Will his presentation still take place in June? “Everything suggests that it will be in June. This will be a decisive Budget in the sense that there will be announcements about the financial envelope granted to the construction of the M4 motorway linking the North, East and South. In addition to this, the budget could also include the increase in the universal pension as well as the minimum wage,” it says.
Very reliable informants based at the Ministry of Local Government make it clear that “no directive has been issued to catalyze the realization of the projects”.
“No hassle” calendar
Jocelyn Chan Low says he is convinced that the government's timetable is “in no way disrupted”. The observer does not see it, logically, postponing the general elections to the first quarter of 2025 due to weather conditions and climate change.
“Vikram Hurdoyal’s resignation will certainly provoke a by-election. But the government will do its best to carry out as many planned projects as possible before calling the population to the polls. I am convinced that he maintains his objective of holding the general elections later this year, or even by August. Or shortly after the 2024-25 Budget,” estimates Jocelyn Chan Low.
The GM: “Our attention is in no way diverted”
At the government level, it is claimed that the timetable for government achievements has already been established. “Vikram Hurdoyal's resignation as MP is a big blow to the party but our attention is in no way diverted. We are focusing on carrying out projects while waiting for the by-election which will take place in approximately seven months,” it says. For the moment, the government is told, attention is more focused on May Day celebrations.
