General elections were held in Mauritius in August 1948. They were the first elections under a new constitution, which established a Legislative Council with 19 elected members, 12 appointed members and 3 ex officio members,[1] and expanded the franchise to all adults who could write their name in one of the island's languages.[2] They were won by the Labour Party led by Guy Rozemont,[3] with eleven of the 19 elected seats won by Hindus. However, the Governor-General Donald Mackenzie-Kennedy appointed twelve conservatives to the Council on 23 August, largely to ensure the dominance of English and French speakers.[4][2]
The elections were also the first in which women stood as candidates. Emilienne Rochecouste, who ran as an independent, was elected in Plaines Wilhems–Black River, becoming the first Mauritian woman elected to the Legislative Council. Following the elections, Denise De Chazal was appointed as one of the twelve nominated members.[5]
Results edit
The elections were held over two days, with Port Louis and Plaines Wilhems-Rivière Noire voting on 9 August and the remainder voting on 10 August.[6]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Louis | Guy Rozemont | 7,257 | 16.4 | Elected |
| Charles Edgard Millien | 7,169 | 16.2 | Elected | |
| Renganaden Seeneevassen | 5,257 | 11.9 | Elected | |
| Samuel Benjamin Emile | 4,782 | 10.8 | Elected | |
| François Gabriel Martial | 4,350 | 9.9 | ||
| Abdool Razack Mohamed | 4,331 | 9.8 | ||
| Alphonse Gontrand Zamudio | 3,275 | 7.4 | ||
| Cassam Mamode Nazroo | 2,498 | 5.7 | ||
| Louis François Raynald Moutia | 2,269 | 5.1 | ||
| Ajum Dahal | 1,992 | 4.5 | ||
| Joseph Marcel Mason | 516 | 1.2 | ||
| Louis Frank Noël Nellan | 457 | 1.0 | ||
| Plaines Wilhems- Black River |
Jules Marie Joseph Louis Maurice Jean Koenig | 10,129 | 11.4 | Elected |
| Louise Marie Emilienne Rochecouste | 9,329 | 10.5 | Elected | |
| Peter Gérard Raymond Rault | 8,195 | 9.3 | Elected | |
| Dunputh Luckeenarain | 7,988 | 9.0 | Elected | |
| Joseph Guy Forget | 7,436 | 8.4 | Elected | |
| Louis Raoul Rivet | 7119 | 8.0 | Elected | |
| Paul Maurice Laurence Nairac | 6,147 | 6.9 | ||
| Moonasur Kooraram | 6,099 | 6.9 | ||
| Félix Conrad Laventure | 5,681 | 6.4 | ||
| Jean Raoul Lamalétie | 5,354 | 6.1 | ||
| Amédée Poupard | 5,290 | 6.0 | ||
| Jacques Sizefroi Esaïe David | 5,069 | 5.7 | ||
| Rechad Ben Noorooya | 4,250 | 4.8 | ||
| Marie Eugène Grégoire | 397 | 0.4 | ||
| Grand Port-Savanne | Sookdeo Bissoondoyal | 5,612 | 18.7 | Elected |
| Jaynarain Roy | 5,174 | 17.3 | Elected | |
| Juggurnauth Bedaysee | 4,707 | 15.7 | Elected | |
| Charles Henri Raymond Hein | 3,480 | 11.6 | ||
| Marie Louis Philippe Rozemont | 2,908 | 9.7 | ||
| Wilfrid L'etang | 2,757 | 9.2 | ||
| Mamode Ismael Ghanty | 2,629 | 8.8 | ||
| Dayanandsing Ramdin | 2,183 | 7.3 | ||
| Louis Antoine Marcel Marrier D'Unienville | 540 | 1.8 | ||
| Pamplemousses- Rivière du Rempart |
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | 5,982 | 23.4 | Elected |
| Harilall Ranchhordas Vaghjee | 5,655 | 22.2 | Elected | |
| Aunauth Beejadhur | 5,118 | 20.1 | Elected | |
| Jean Philippe Lagesse | 2,846 | 11.2 | ||
| Radhamohun Gujadhur | 2,082 | 8.2 | ||
| Donald Francis | 1,370 | 5.4 | ||
| Ramawad Sewgobind | 1,087 | 4.3 | ||
| Ramsoondar Baboolall | 577 | 2.3 | ||
| Ramchundur Goburdhun | 405 | 1.6 | ||
| Rampartab Allgoo | 397 | 1.6 | ||
| Moka-Flacq | Sookdeosing Balgobin | 4,737 | 18.2 | Elected |
| Bhagwan Gujadhur | 4,602 | 17.7 | Elected | |
| Ramsoomer Balgobin | 4,544 | 17.5 | Elected | |
| Alexis Désire Fernand Leclézio | 4,472 | 17.2 | ||
| Ackbar Gujadhur | 3,139 | 12.1 | ||
| Ismaël Peeroo | 2,600 | 10.0 | ||
| Satyadev Salabee | 1,929 | 7.4 | ||
| Total | 214,168 | 100 | ||
| Source: Electoral Commission | ||||
References edit
- ^ History and Information Archived 2010-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Mauritius Permanent Mission to the UN
- ^ a b Mauritius: Toward Independence Country Data
- ^ History Mauritius UK Connection
- ^ Colonial Office, The Church House The London Gazette, 3 September 1948
- ^ Ramtohul, Ramola (2009). "Engendering Mauritian History: The Hidden Controversies over Female Suffrage". Afrika Zamani (17): 63–80.
- ^ Results of the General Election for the Mauritius Legislative Council held on 9/10 August Electoral Commission