Due to the massive and rapid contamination of the island, the elections for the Regional Assembly of Rodrigues, scheduled for 13th February, have been postponed to Sunday 27th February. This is an extension of two weeks of campaigning for the Rodrigues parties.
During his press briefing on Monday 07th February at the Treasury building in Port Louis, the PM announced that “on the 6th January 2022, the President of the Republic, Pradeep Roopun, under my advice and after consultation with the Electoral Commission, had dissolved the Rodrigues Assembly. He had then set the date for the regional elections for Sunday 13th February. But with the increase in cases since 26th January, and with more than 3306 cases reached in 12 days, we had to lean towards postponing the elections for Sunday 27th February”.
This decision, taken for health security reasons for the Rodriguan electorate, is already causing some reactions on the networks. While some applaud the decision saying that the Rodriguans will be more comfortable to go and vote two weeks later, hoping for a decrease in contamination, others deplore that such a decision was taken so close to the elections’ day, which disrupts all the campaigns already underway. Still, others feel that this decision was unnecessary because Covid 19 remains unpredictable and there is no guarantee that the island will have fewer active cases or outbreaks by 27th February.
