The Group of Extra-Parliamentary Parties is calling for the resignation of Irfan Rahman as Electoral Commissioner. The 1st February recount in constituency number 19, Stanley/Rose-Hill, which they claim was a magic trick, remains unacceptable.
The three anomalies of discord
This grouping is made up of Bruneau Laurette of Linion Sitwayin Morisien, Dev Sunnasy and José Moirt of 100% Citoyen, Jean Claude Barbier and Neena Ramdenee of the Mouvement Patriotique and Mirella Chauvin of GREA, who was replacing Rama Valayden who is recovering. The three anomalies noted during the partial recount of the ballots at No. 19 raised questions and sarcasm in their feelings, in front of the press, this Friday afternoon, 4th February, in Rose-Hill.
These three anomalies are as follows: Firstly, 73 missing ballots, which is a count of 28,169 ballots in November 2019 but 28,096 ballots in 2022. The difference in the results is 80 votes as compared to 92 in 2019. Secondly, 1 ballot paper from Constituency no.1 (GRNO/Port-Louis-Ouest) was found in the sealed box of ballot papers from no.19. And thirdly, 2 other ballots did not bear the seal of the Electoral Commission.
Concerns and complaints from members
For Bruneau Laurette, “Do we still have an Electoral Commission worthy of the name? Can we still trust our institutions? Are they still credible?” He questioned the roles of the Police Commissioner and the Electoral Commissioner. He also spoke of monitoring in a computer room to check whether the announcements are in line with the work done in the classrooms where the ballots are cast.
Jean Claude Barbier believes that the Electoral Commission has lost its credibility and added that “the Commission must take its share of responsibility and a general consultation of all concerned for a better conduct of the upcoming elections.”
For Mireilla Chauvin “the confusion is even greater after this recount“. According to Neena Ramdenee, “the law on the electoral process is too vague and too much at the discretion of the Electoral Commissioner.
Jose Moirt was categorical: “There is no institution credible enough to organise an election in the country. By calling for an investigation, Irfan Rahman has made himself the No. 1 suspect as he is one of the three key holders followed by the Electoral Boundary Commissioner and the top SMF official. He cannot therefore go to the Supreme Court to object and remain in office.”
