It’s been almost three
weeks since I returned to Britain after spending 34 dazzling days on the
tropical island of Mauritius. Perhaps
the most satisfying element of the holiday revolved around the fact that even
after ten years across twelve visits, I still explored new experiences. Whether it was catching a bus on
Christmas Day, enjoying a party on a Catamaran late into the night or raving in
a sugar cane field under a full-moon.
I booked the flight for my
adventure in July, so it was something of a treat when I realised
that the Mauritian General Election would be taking place during my stay. I had of course experienced my first
Mauritian Election during my 2010
visit, but it was something I observed from a distance. I witnessed some local canvassing in and
around the Grand Baie area, but the event largely passed me by. I was distracted by preparations for my
impending birthday party and not even my Politics-addiction would impose upon
that.
This time around was a
completely different story. I ensured
that I explained to as many friends as possible from the moment I arrived that
I was eager to experience how elections were conducted in the land of my father’s
birth. Fortunately for me, a friend of a
friend (Kugan Parapen) has been involved in working with a relatively new
Political Party called
“Rezistans ek Alternativ”. I was invited
to come along and assist in their preparations a couple of days before polling
day, an opportunity I seized without a moment’s thought.
As the name suggested,
Rezistans were aiming to offer a new and alternative
vision for the people of Mauritius. They
were firmly entrenched on the far-left of the political spectrum, so it didn’t
take long for me to quickly find myself on the same page as the Party. Pro-wealth redistribution, anti-communalism,
protecting workers rights and measures to combat global-warming: this was a Manifesto that I could
fully subscribe to without exception.
Although formed in 2005, this
was the first time that their members could stand because candidates
were not required to declare their
ethnicity. This was a huge step in the
right direction- moving the Republic away from the perils of communalism, the
origins of so many problems
during the first three decades following Independence.
I was deeply impressed observing
this refreshing voice in Mauritian politics. Not just because they had produced a list of
policies which I found myself in full agreement with, but also because they had
captured the imagination of younger voters and engaged disenfranchised parts
of the electorate across the country.
Everything about them reinforced a notion that they were a breath of fresh
air.
The crucial element here
was that it represented something new.
Not simply the same personalities rebranded under a sparkly redesigned
logo, but a genuine collective of individuals who thought they could offer an
alternative way of running Mauritius.
They were not ex-members of MMM, Labour or MSM who had left (or been
expelled) for example. They were a
welcome relief in a Republic which had been dominated by two families, the
Ramgoolams & the Jugnauths, who had shared power since Independence from
Britain in 1968.
Rezistans went on to
secure 3.5% of the vote on polling day, a remarkable achievement considering this
was the first time they had contested elections nationally. Kugan himself secured 6.5% in his seat of
Quatre Bornes and the organisations most experienced figure achieved over 8% in
their constituency. It is an incredibly
solid platform to build upon in years to come, not just in 2019 but in subsequent
contests as well. I had to explain to
Kugan and his friends that in Britain a relatively new political faction, the
UK Independence Party (UKIP), had taken far longer to make such an impression
on a national scale. Indeed it is only
some 22 years after being created that they are on the verge of making an
impact at a British General Election, which is scheduled to take place in May
2015.
Aside from the fact that
both parties are relatively new, Rezistans and UKIP couldn’t be more
different. UKIP positions itself very
much on the hard-right of the political spectrum. They would screech in horror at the policies
offered by Kugan and his colleagues.
Naturally this relates to the idea that in the UK the political debate
has for over three decades taken place on the right of the spectrum. In Mauritius, as I have noted previously,
the opposite is true where a traditional culture of political debate on the
left exists.
I saw Kugan again around a week
after the Mauritian Elections and I explained that I felt inspired by how he
and other like-minded individuals had shown such tremendous initiative to work
so hard to project their alternative vision of what Mauritius should look
like. Kugan had spent some time living
in the UK during a period studying at Warwick University, and I joked that he
should consider visiting us again in the UK soon to show us how we too could
replicate what they had achieved in Mauritius. But just how feasible is
such a prospect anyway?
Britain has been dominated
by two parties for almost a century, albeit not quite the family dynasties that
exist in Mauritius. Nonetheless, they
are two very imposing institutions which would initially suggest that what
Rezistans did in Mauritius could not possibly be replicated in the UK.
Or could it?
Data from the 2010 British
General Election suggests that maybe Britain is crying out for a Kugan or a
Rezistans to offer a new direction. I
have written previously
about the need for a break from the consensus-style politics which have
poisoned the British political landscape since the mid-1980s. Yet even more alarmingly is the fact that the
number of people on the electoral roll register who did not even register a
vote in 2010 would significantly outnumber the tallies of every other political
group on offer in the UK. That would
include UKIP who stood in the same election.
This is a shocking revelation and shows just how many people are
currently disengaged from the political process in Britain.
Kugan and Rezistans showed
how offering an alternative message, entrenched in strong left-wing values, can
reach out and invigorate sections of the electorate to become involved in the
process again. This was especially true
of younger voters. It’s a proportion of
the electorate which poses an enormous problem in the UK, for example: at the
last election fewer
than 50% of voters under the age of 35 actually voted. This was part of a national turnout of 65%,
and if we analyse the figures for voters between the ages of 18-24, the figures
are even more astonishing where the figure falls to below 45%. Even that was propped-up by male voters
because a snapshot of female voters under the age of 24 shows the figure slipping
beneath 40%.
It’s unrealistic to
suggest that a new Party could be created tomorrow and would have enough time
to make an impact at the British General Election in less than 15 weeks’ time. However it is not so outlandish that a
Political Party started soon could make an impact in 2020, in time for another
General Election. Rezistans ek Altenativ
offered a brand new vision for Mauritius and came from nowhere to snatch 3.5%
of the vote in their debut national poll.
It wasn’t a stroke of fortune and may provide hope for us all. It can inspire like-minded individuals to
come together and work towards offering an alternative direction for Britain,
something that resonates with left-wing voters who otherwise feel ostracised.
It might amount to a
proposal which inspires many of the near-16 million voters to engage
once again.
