Transparency Mauritius has issued a statement on the government’s decision to postpone the municipal polls. For the organisation, this “confirms an autocratic tendency that started years ago”. Transparency Mauritius insists that “Government is not above the law or the people”. It goes to add that “a central pillar of democracy is under attack”. The organisation calls on the MSM government to respect democracy, that is the power given to the people.
Transparency Mauritius also commented in its statement on the fact that government confirmed it was not going to keep its promise made in January 2015 to introduce the Freedom of Information Act. It recalled that “the election manifesto of the then Sir Anerood-Jugnauth-led government called for transparency and accountability in public administration and in the awarding of contracts”. .
Transparency Mauritius press release on the postponement of the municipal polls also stresses that “the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is the last bastion against the instrumentalisation of the police”.
The statement also said that the opposition is being gagged during parliamentary proceedings and that journalists are being threatened.
