Le Fron Militan Progresis (FMP) aurait entamé les démarches officielles pour proposer Chetan Baboolall au poste de leader de l’opposition. Une demande en ce sens aurait été adressée au président de la République, Dharam Gokhool, dans la soirée du mercredi 5 août.
Avec trois députés à l’Assemblée nationale, Paul Bérenger, Joanna Bérenger et Chetan Baboolall, le FMP estime désormais être la principale formation de l’opposition parlementaire. Le parti considère ainsi qu’il dispose d’un argument numérique pour revendiquer ce poste stratégique.
Selon les dispositions constitutionnelles, lorsqu’un parti d’opposition dispose d’une supériorité numérique sur les autres formations de l’opposition à l’Assemblée nationale, le président de la République nomme comme leader de l’opposition le député qui dirige ce parti au Parlement.
Constitution of Mauritius – Section 73: Leader of the Opposition
(1) There shall be a Leader of the Opposition who shall be appointed by the President.
(2) Where the President has occasion to appoint a Leader of the Opposition, he shall, in his own deliberate judgment, appoint:
(a) where there is one opposition party whose numerical strength in the Assembly is greater than the strength of any other opposition party, the member of the Assembly who is the leader in the Assembly of that party; or
(b) where there is no such party, the member of the Assembly whose appointment would, in the judgment of the President, be most acceptable to the leaders in the Assembly of the opposition parties.
Provided that, where the occasion arises for making an appointment while Parliament is dissolved, a person who was a member of the Assembly immediately before the dissolution may be appointed Leader of the Opposition.
(3) The office of the Leader of the Opposition shall become vacant:
(a) where, after any general election, he is informed by the President that the President is about to appoint another person as Leader of the Opposition;
(b) where, under section 36(1), he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the Assembly;
(c) where he ceases to be a member of the Assembly otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of Parliament;
(d) where, at the first sitting of the Assembly after any general election, he is not a member of the Assembly; or
(e) where his appointment is revoked under subsection (4).
(4) Where the President, acting in his own deliberate judgment, considers that a member of the Assembly, other than the Leader of the Opposition, has become the leader in the Assembly of the opposition party having the greatest numerical strength in the Assembly or, as the case may be, that the Leader of the Opposition is no longer acceptable as such to the leaders of the opposition parties in the Assembly, the President may revoke the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition.
(5) For the purposes of this section, “opposition party” means a group of members of the Assembly whose number includes a leader who commands their support in opposition to the Government.