Massive Victory for Alliance du Changement

Opinion

The electorate cares more about the winning party, because henceforth they look forward to the latter to meet their pledges and bring about the promised improvements in the lives of the people

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel.
– Former Prime Minister Golda Meir

As I wrote in my article of last week, ‘Of 60-0 & appeasement politics’, it is part of our electoral folklore that the street agents from the adversarial, contending parties are often to be found managing their ‘stalls’ in proximity to each other, indulging in banter and generally having an enjoyable time. Likewise, I opined that ‘our hope is that as in the past once the elections are over and the results declared, the transition to the elected government will take place smoothly.’

This has happened already. The outgoing Prime Minister promptly conceded defeat and acknowledged the landslide victory of the ‘Alliance du Changement’. A communiqué from the Office of the President dated November 12, 2024, confirms that he has ‘received and accepted the resignation of Honourable Pravind Jugnauth, as Prime Minister and that of his government with immediate effect.’

It’s the end of another political cycle for the MSM and its leader as they go into hibernation, giving time for the latter to, perhaps, cogitate on ‘kote mone foter’ – where did I do wrong? – and prepare himself, perhaps, for a future cycle. For, like Tennyson’s brook, ‘men may come and men may go, but I go on forever.’ Political cycles will keep succeeding each other.

As the losers pack up their bags with their tails tucked in – given the landslide defeat – the winning Alliance, indeed the whole of Mauritius had reason enough to bask in their hard-fought glory and savour their victory that resonated loudly across the country till the early hours of Monday night. In fact, it was well past midnight when the final results in the No. 5 constituency were declared, confirming that the designated future PM, leader of LP and the ‘Alliance du Changement’ Navin Ramgoolam had won hands-down along with his two fellow candidates.

As political parties gear up to contest an election, quite commonly this is referred to as an electoral battle. Like in any battle, there are winners and losers. In our current predicament, therefore, it is quite appropriate for both of them to remember the advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna as the latter prepared to engage in battle, namely that he should perform his duty and accept the result, be it success or failure with equanimity of mind, this being known as karma yoga (Bhagavad Gita, Ch 2, V 48).

In other words, one must maintain calmness and composure of the mind: not become euphoric in victory or sink into depression in failure. The electorate care less about the losing party than about the winning one, because henceforth they look forward to the latter to meet their pledges and bring about the promised improvements in the lives of the people. Any euphoria, therefore, can only be short-lived under the circumstances, because of the avowedly catastrophic left-over of the previous regime, which the incoming government is expected to reverse in record time. An obvious impossibility, but since they have built up hype and hope, the responsibility is that much heavier.

And they will be similarly watched. It seems some have anticipated this already, if we go by the statement made by Roshan Jhummun, a successful candidate in No 13 constituency. In as many words he said that we had better deliver, for if we don’t, we should expect to be similarly booted out after five years.

Let’s hope this realism, and reality, sinks in and instigates or motivates the new regime to begin righting the accumulated wrongs on a fast-track basis, and to remain accountable and transparent in their doings and dealings. That’s the kind of ‘victory’ the electorate will look forward to before it actually begins to rejoice after the justifiable high of celebration immediately after the results were out – the equivalent of Golda Meir’s cotton and strawberries so to speak!

In my previous article alluded to I had also indicated that, despite the overwhelming frustration and anger that arose after the ‘Missié Moustass’ leaks, there was also a feeling that in line with democratic principles a credible opposition should emerge. That this did not happen is testimony to the rage with which people voted to boot out the incumbent regime, mobilizing as ‘one people, one country’ at the booths, and afterwards manifesting this sentiment as they sang the national anthem and waved the Mauritian flag. All the faultlines were put aside and may this continue to underpin all future decisions and movements. Decisions should not only be premised on equal rights for all, but also result in outcomes that ensure equity – that is, fairness and justice, for all.

This election has also revealed that there is a law of diminishing returns as regards freebies: people went so far and no further, as the additional carrots that were dangled clearly didn’t have the impact wished for by the Alliance Lepep. This confirmed the assertion of US President Lincoln that ‘you can fool some of the people all the time, you can fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’ Let these words be constantly remembered.

On the other hand, this overwhelming result has also shown that the ‘third force’ that has often been wished for will be a long time coming on our local scene. Despite many cogent arguments put forth by Linion Reform, which came third after the two Alliances but still trailing well behind with just over 116,000 votes, it clearly failed to emerge significantly. Nevertheless, it is instructive to pay some attention to the reaction posted by a young novice of the Reform Party after the results were out:

‘Dear All, thank you all who have supported me both throughout this political journey. I have done what I could in my capacity and within my conscience. It is a pity to see that people are still idiots when it comes to voting in the sense that they do not vote for their country by having checks and balances and by only hearing gossips. Today we have given full ownership of the Parliament to only one alliance and our only hope is that now with that power they can act responsibly and within their limits. Otherwise, we as a nation will have to bear the consequences. With great power comes great responsibility! Let’s now hope that this government sets its foot down for better meritocracy and less nepotism. Thank you all.’

The job awaiting is both urgent and huge. Let us turn the page and begin in earnest and with fresh hope to usher in a cleaner phase in our national life.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 15 November 2024