About the Parliament
The Constitution of Mauritius provides that there shall be a Parliament for Mauritius which shall consist of the President and a National Assembly. The Parliament of Mauritius is modelled on the Westminster model. Members of Parliament are voted in at regular general elections, on the basis of the first past the post system.
The Assembly is made up of 70 Members elected in 21 constituencies, of which Rodrigues Island is one.
The political party or party alliance which wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government and its leader is appointed Prime Minister by the President of the Republic. The other Cabinet Ministers are appointed by the President of the Republic acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. The other Ministers are elected Members, except for the Attorney General who may not be an elected Member.
The political party or alliance which has the second largest majority forms the Official Opposition and its leader is appointed Leader of the Opposition by the President of the Republic.
At its first sitting after any general election, the Assembly proceeds with the election, from among its Members or otherwise, a Speaker and from among its Members, a Deputy Speaker. At the beginning of each session, the President of the Republic delivers a Presidential Address, outlining the Government Programme. The life of a Legislature is five years from the date of the first sitting after a general election.
The Assembly elects the President and the Vice-President of the Republic on motion made by the Prime Minister and supported by the votes of a majority of the Members of the Assembly. They are elected for a term of five years but are eligible for re-election.