Daily Mauritius http://dailymauritius.com Daily News Feed from Mauritius Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:49:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Souscription pour aider une jeune aveugle http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/souscription-pour-aider-une-jeune-aveugle/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/souscription-pour-aider-une-jeune-aveugle/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:49:23 +0000 valerie gery http://www.radiomoris.com/forum/nouvelles-de-lile-maurice/11566-souscription-pour-aider-une-jeune-aveugle.html La jeune Jane Constance :moris: ( 11 ans et aveugle de naissance ), reprend les cours dans une classe d'enseignement classique.

Hors, les moyens scolaires ne sont pas fournis pour que Jane puisse suivre pleinement ses cours avec son handicap.

L'ONG Française Terre Espoir et du District de Grand Port ouvre une souscription pour participer à l'acquisition de l'ordinateur Braille qui lui est nécessaire.

Vous pouvez adresser vos dons par chèque à l'ordre de l'ong:
TERRE ESPOIR
110 B Cité La Chaux - Mahebourg
( merci de marqué au dos du chèque souscription au profit de Jane )

ou par virement Bancaire

La Banque des Mascareignes (versement en roupies)
SWIFT (BIC) : BAIMMUMU
IBAN: MU79MPCB1215101000053300000

Pour ceux qui sont en européens
La Banque Postale (versement en euros)
SWIFT (BIC) : PSSTFRPPSCE
IBAN: FR9720041010126067271A03340


Merci à ceux qui auront les yeux du c?ur :moris:

Contact de l'ONG : Ashveen Pariapen +230 741 01 94 ( maurice )
Contact de l'ONG : Philippe Roucou +33 6 26 78 21 47 ( France ) ]]> http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/souscription-pour-aider-une-jeune-aveugle/feed/ 0 Navin Ramgoolam : «Pas de réforme électorale si les minorités ne … – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/navin-ramgoolam-%c2%abpas-de-reforme-electorale-si-les-minorites-ne-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/navin-ramgoolam-%c2%abpas-de-reforme-electorale-si-les-minorites-ne-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:48:45 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34317-navin-ramgoolam-pas-de-reforme-electorale-si-les-minorites-ne-sont-pas-representees.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/navin-ramgoolam-%c2%abpas-de-reforme-electorale-si-les-minorites-ne-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Jacques Pereira : « Le collège Bhujoharry accueille ceux qui sont … – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/jacques-pereira-%c2%ab-le-college-bhujoharry-accueille-ceux-qui-sont-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/jacques-pereira-%c2%ab-le-college-bhujoharry-accueille-ceux-qui-sont-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:45:53 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/news/749-interview-jacques-pereira-le-college-bhujoharry-accueille-ceux-qui-sont-rejetes-ailleurs.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/jacques-pereira-%c2%ab-le-college-bhujoharry-accueille-ceux-qui-sont-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Electoral Reform for Mauritius : The wild dreams of Rama Sithanen http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/electoral-reform-for-mauritius-the-wild-dreams-of-rama-sithanen/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/electoral-reform-for-mauritius-the-wild-dreams-of-rama-sithanen/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:48:25 +0000 Rafic Soormally http://www.ile-maurice.com/forum/actualites-de-lile-maurice/11496-electoral-reform-mauritius-wild-dreams-rama-sithanen.html
Electoral Reform for Mauritius : The wild dreams of Rama Sithanen

The objective of the BLS has always been to ensure adequate minority representation in Parliament as a measure to make up some of the deficiencies in the first past the post system (FPTP). Any other method designed to protect minority representation, however ridiculous or unfair it may be, will always claim to have the same objective. Whatever Rama Sithanen may say, he is proposing the abolition of the BLS.

Dr Rama Sithanen and his ?transparent closed? Party Lists


Rama Sithanen is said to have completed his PhD in « Political Sciences » with thesis on « Evaluating and proposing Electoral Systems for Plural Societies ». However, one must not confuse a plural society with a pluralist system of government. Let us look at what Rama Sithanen is proposing and whether his system is preferable to the Best Loser System (BLS), and how he went about it.

1. Rama Sithanen apparently never came out with any report to replace the BLS in Mauritius until he took cognizance of the reports of the jurists Albie Sachs and Pr Guy Carcassone [« Réforme électorale : dernière chance », Jean-Denis Permal, Matinal 30th January 2011]. PM Ramgoolam also recognised this. To what extent, if any, he borrowed from them and changed things around in the light of his knowledge of the subject is not known. Critics may well argue that he has not produced an inspired piece of work, but merely based his opinions through disagreeing with the jurists? original reports, his excuse being to avoid « unintended consequences », whatever this is supposed to mean.

2. Rama Sithanen is said to have « simulated » all the general elections since 1967 relative to the recommendations of Sachs & Carcassone. This simulation seems as clear as mud. Firstly, the results of the general elections since 1967 are historical and not simulations. Secondly, how he used those historical data, if at all, in the light of the Sachs & Carcassone reports is far from clear. Thirdly, how he formulated his own recommendations thereon are even more unclear.

3. He says that, before writing his report, he consulted at least « fifty stakeholders », who included political leaders, constitutional experts such as Sir Victor Glover, Sir Hamid Moolan, former Judge Robert Ahnee, Chief Justice Bernard Sik Yuen, members of the « Civil Society » as well as Sociologists, Historians and experts in ?electoral mathematics?. By jove, how impressive! But he is the expert on electoral reform. He should be the one who is well-versed in electoral mathematics. Why does he need so many experts? What good are sociologists and historians for the purposes of electoral reform? What did he gain from them? Can they be regarded as grassroots of political freedom and fairness? How did he select them? Why has Sithanen not conducted a survey of the constituent elements of the Mauritian people based on representative samples? Surely, can his ?samples of experts? be regarded as representative of the people? This should give people an indication how his report has been mounted.

4. Also, he criticises the Carcassone Report for not taking into account electoral boundaries because he says that, defining electoral boundaries are more important than the electoral system. But he seems to misunderstand the very essence of Proportional Representation (PR) which transcends such boundaries. PR looks beyond boundaries. By arguing that the electoral problem resides in the 60-0 of 1982 and 1995 and that a solution should be found between the number candidates and the number of votes, he is effectively agreeing with Pr Carcassone and contradicting himself. He even gave the game away when he speaks of « national representation » rather than ?electoral boundaries representation?.

5. He also recommends no more than 2 candidates of the same sex in any constituency. He is therefore assuming this should apply to every political party which puts forward its 3 candidates in any constituency. Although he does not spell it out, he is trying to force parties to put forward at least one woman candidate. In so doing, he is making decisions on behalf of political parties in their selection of candidates. This ridiculous suggestion goes against the very concept of political freedom. A political party is free to choose, a man or woman candidate depending on its belief in the candidate?s competency and ability to get elected. No one has the right to interfere with this freedom. If the party feels it should have 3 male or 3 female candidates, or a mixture of 3 candidates in a particular constituency, it is free to do so. Rama Sithanen is not a sort of demigod who can force women to go into politics, force parties to put them forward as candidates and force people to vote for them so that they may find their way to the Assembly in order to satisfy his electoral reform dream. He even wants the government to amend the constitution to that effect, amendment which may well be unconstitutional. Or, could his constitutional experts have advised him otherwise, since he named them?

6. He wants to substitute the nominations of unelected candidates with most votes from minority communities under BLS for nominations from Party Lists, irrespective of whether or not the candidates have received most votes. He argues that « 75% of MPs will depend on the choice of electors and only 25% will be chosen by the party. With a threshold of 10% (or 5% plus 3FPTP) to be eligible for national seats ». How did he work out that 10% threshold or equivalent? Did his ?electoral mathematicians? tell him that? What formulae, if any, did they use? Or, did he just pluck the figure from thin air? Furthermore, how will this « promote harmony and foster nationhood » as Sithanen alleges? It is more of a recipe for chaos, disharmony and civil unrest.

7. Then he comes up with the ?formula? « Unreturn Vote Elected (UVE) » and proposes 17 points - of what and from where?. Or, has he just plucked the number 17, again from thin air? On top of the present 62 elected MPs, Rama Sithanen also wants at least 20 (another figure plucked from somewhere!) more MPs under his proposed reform, at the expense of the taxpayers, of course! Does a small country like Mauritius really need so many MPs? I am still wondering if his use of the words ?Unreturn Vote Elected? is good English or some form of muddy encoded message, like most of what he is saying.

8. Rama Sithanen proposes the system of « Double candidacies ». Good Lord ! What is this supposed to mean? To him, it means that a candidate can present himself (herself) for election at constituency level and, at the same time, be part of his Party List which is closed in that the « order » of candidates cannot be changed as it should be submitted to the Electoral Commission on Nomination Day. Hence, if the candidate is not properly elected, he (she) can be nominated from the Party Closed List. To Rama Sithanen, this is a candidate which has submitted two candidacies! He even says that this exists in countries ranging from Germany to Lesotho! Also, he offers no explanation as to the « order » in question. To add insult to injury, he refers to a « closed » Party List and then states that this is « better, safer and more transparent » but does not demonstrate how a closed list can be transparent. It would not be farfetched to say that he is taking people for a ride.

9. He says that the Dutch, the South Africans, the Austrians think that an electoral system should be « just and equitable ». But, does he not know this? Does he honestly think that the Dutch colonisers can teach us about justice and equity?

10. He is not comparing like with like and he is mixing issues to carry forward his dream. In one example, Sithanen finds it unacceptable that Bérenger received 47% of the votes at constituency level but was not elected. While he criticised Carcassone for ignoring electoral boundaries, Bérenger could only have found his way to Parliament at national level, that is, beyond electoral boundaries. But then, he argues that in 1982 the Labour Party obtained 28% of the votes but its leader was not elected. He jumps from percentage of votes obtained by a candidate to that obtained by a party (when he should compare like with like) and then filters it to its leader. Sithanen is merely jumping de coq à l?âne and misleading people.

Conclusion
In formulating his alternative to the BLS, one would have thought that Rama Sithanen would have demonstrated where the BLS is lacking and how his proposal would remedy the situation. But this does not appear to be the case. On the contrary, he proposes to abolish the system without justification, but argues that he is keeping the ?objective? of the BLS. Past election results emanate from a defective FPTP system; any exercise (simulations!) carried out on those defective results will merely amplify those defects. He produced his report on electoral reform only after he studied the reports of the jurists Sachs & Carcassone, and made a right mess of it through flawed and contradictory arguments, while using the good names of eminent Mauritians without showing what he borrowed from them and how it has been applied in his report for the purposes of electoral reform. He accuses Pr Carcassonne of using the example of Spain, but he feels at liberty to refer to countries like Lebanon where the colonial constitution provides for the President to be always a Christian, or like Lesotho which, according to him, Mauritians have to learn how to operate ?closed? party lists in ?transparency?. Which serious government would even consider such a report?

M Rafic Soormally
London / Updated 02 February 2012 ]]> http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/electoral-reform-for-mauritius-the-wild-dreams-of-rama-sithanen/feed/ 0 Angleterre: Manchester United veut mettre fin à dix ans d’échec à … – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/angleterre-manchester-united-veut-mettre-fin-a-dix-ans-dechec-a-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/angleterre-manchester-united-veut-mettre-fin-a-dix-ans-dechec-a-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:28:41 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34316-angleterre-manchester-united-veut-mettre-fin-a-dix-ans-d-echec-a-chelsea.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/angleterre-manchester-united-veut-mettre-fin-a-dix-ans-dechec-a-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Liga: statu quo pour le Real et Barcelone – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/liga-statu-quo-pour-le-real-et-barcelone-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/liga-statu-quo-pour-le-real-et-barcelone-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:20:53 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34315-liga-statu-quo-pour-le-real-et-barcelone.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/liga-statu-quo-pour-le-real-et-barcelone-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Réunion : Une charte pour préserver le parc national – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/reunion-une-charte-pour-preserver-le-parc-national-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/reunion-une-charte-pour-preserver-le-parc-national-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:43:31 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34314-reunion-une-charte-pour-preserver-le-parc-national.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/reunion-une-charte-pour-preserver-le-parc-national-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Primaires aux Etats-Unis: le républicain Mitt Romney largement … – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/primaires-aux-etats-unis-le-republicain-mitt-romney-largement-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/primaires-aux-etats-unis-le-republicain-mitt-romney-largement-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:39:56 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34313-primaires-aux-etats-unis-le-republicain-mitt-romney-largement-vainqueur-dans-le-nevada.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/primaires-aux-etats-unis-le-republicain-mitt-romney-largement-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Elections régionales à Rodrigues : Entre « baz » et « bagaz » – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/elections-regionales-a-rodrigues-entre-%c2%ab-baz-%c2%bb-et-%c2%ab-bagaz-%c2%bb-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/elections-regionales-a-rodrigues-entre-%c2%ab-baz-%c2%bb-et-%c2%ab-bagaz-%c2%bb-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:54:18 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34307-elections-regionales-a-rodrigues-entre-baz-et-bagaz.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/elections-regionales-a-rodrigues-entre-%c2%ab-baz-%c2%bb-et-%c2%ab-bagaz-%c2%bb-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0 Frédéric François promet un spectacle unique ce dimanche au Centre … – L’express.mu http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/frederic-francois-promet-un-spectacle-unique-ce-dimanche-au-centre-lexpress-mu/ http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/frederic-francois-promet-un-spectacle-unique-ce-dimanche-au-centre-lexpress-mu/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:19:03 +0000 Google Inc. tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.lexpress.mu/story/34308-frederic-francois-promet-un-spectacle-unique-ce-dimanche-au-centre-swami-vivekananda.html http://dailymauritius.com/2012/02/frederic-francois-promet-un-spectacle-unique-ce-dimanche-au-centre-lexpress-mu/feed/ 0