TALEB DURGAHEE
Mauritius is a country of culture. The population is affectionately labelled ‘peuple admirable’ showing restraint where others would be calling for revolution. The silent majority plods on minding their own business. There is a tradition of silence. A way of living has been long established and firmly embedded by our forefathers. Subsequent generations have been trying to move with times and pushing the boundaries to influence our culture. Some defend the popular culture while others assert that our past can be improved to bring about changes and embrace modernism in the shape of pressure groups, marches and demonstrations. 
Where are we heading? Modernist or populist culture? How do we overcome this tradition of restraint and silence? Wherever we end up, what is sought by all is the joy of existence, cultural pride and high standards of conduct. What follows is to raise an awareness of the evolution experienced in Mauritius and a notion of how political parties materialise.
Mass Consumption
Cultures evolve when the population begins to consume, accept and adopt ways of living and doing business. The greater the consumption rate, the bigger is the evolution rate. This can be insidious or rapid. Academics talk in terms of discourse in classroom-based evolution where groups of population organise themselves in small numbers, decide on ways of conducting their lives and remain almost secluded such as gated communities. Others talk about hallway-based evolution where people react to what is happening and how they feel about the events and shape their culture accordingly. Survival of the fittest is a well-known approach promoting an adaptive culture. This usually gives rise to pressure groups and new political parties as experienced in Mauritius.
It appears there is a trend of another concrete development especially of malls influencing our culture, our way of shopping, coffee culture and socialising. We used to invite people in our home, have dinner and a good family conversation. Now, people are leaning more towards inviting people and taking them out to nice places, restaurant and fun time location. This is consistent with embracing new ways of entertaining and embed it in our lives and pass it on to the next generation. It shows taste and aesthetic discrimination of maximising the joy of existence.
On the other hand, people of ‘high culture’ are intangible, untouchable and almost invisible. This group is probably the smallest community. It is not easy to see or have a confident account of how billionaires live and the culture they consume. So, the values exercised by this group could remain unknown. Many think that this group is made up of few local Mauritians and rich immigrants building their own ghettos in neglected or remote areas. There is a policy of attracting wealthy immigrants under the banner of investment and development rewarding them with citizenship. It is inevitable that this will impact on our Mauritian culture slowly but surely.
An elementary account of our evolution is showing the split in our society with sufficiently clear lines of demarcation and possibly segregation. Time will show the worth or worthlessness of such social strata.
People Discourse
Let’s have a glance at recent developments. We are witnessing the formation of new political parties such as LPM, which started with small focused discourse and workshops around the country and engaging with the diaspora. The LPM has contributed massively to a discourse community setting a new pattern of politics. The Reform Party adopted an educational approach enlightening the population on government processes, priorities and dealings to enhance the meaningful debate. This is being sustained by other parties engaging in people discourse or as we know it ‘travay lor terin’. RM stressed that strongly last week in their attempt to be active within communities. PTR has begun constituency-based gatherings. No doubt other well-known parties will follow suit as we enter into election mode.
Election reminds us of political parties but how do they come about? Mauritius has experienced politicians and they know the tripartite elements of people discourse is the Creator, the Producer and the Consumer. In its simplest form, this triangle can be very effective in managing discourse community. The clarity with which this triangle is articulated and presented to the community can enhance or restrict participation, dialogue and emergence of new agenda. Greater participation has a better chance of bringing new ideas and direction.
The creator, normally known as the leadership, is the person or persons who create the party, espouse the values and establish concepts and expectations to influence groups of people. These values should remain pure and uncompromising in their commitment to cultural perfection. All this is concretised in a powerful mission statement which has not been clear in our politics. The creator also recruits highly valued and trained personnel with a capacity to preserve the purity of party values and free from distractions which could contaminate the values. This is deemed the critical base of an aspiring party.
The producer is the campaign managers who organise and shape events, meetings and assemblies. This is where the true players play the symphony, the opera and the expressive culture come into play. All parties know who should be handed the microphone and the loudspeaker to contribute to aesthetic and spiritual elevation of the party. Needless to say this is where some make it or break it. It is easy to recall the orator never seen again who forgot the name of his leader sitting almost next to him.
The consumer is the active and passive public. They are the main players and decide whether they can consume what is being dished out. They see, they listen and sometimes ask questions and engage in debate. They have their wish list, vision and the destiny of their families in focus.
The public is an intelligent one and evolving. They know better is the ‘sight of the eye than the wandering of desire’. People will remember record of past performance and make up their mind. There is an increase in home-based discourse as children influence the adults, the explosion of information on the internet and social media. One vote depends on many factors but most of all the consumer wants realistic proposals, costed and benefits in line with national priorities and progress. For example, the politics of water will feature strongly in the next election because it has become a national priority. No party can conceal this gratification of national thirst.
Money Politics and Electoral Commission
Funding of political parties is an international issue. Parties need funds to inform the consumer. It is good to have a limit on what can be spent on electioneering by parties and the electoral commission (EC) must be robust in policing the expenses.
The EC will be the institution under most scrutiny from now on because of the irregularities in the last election and the suspicion of electoral rigging. EC bears a heavy responsibility in Mauritius and it is right that it is held under sharp focus in its decision-making, policies and procedures. Parties such as LPM are proactive and have already initiated a dialogue with EC about the management of the next election. Other parties, voluntary organisations such as Democracy Watch should all engage regularly with EC to bring about a consciousness of a free and fair election.
EC in Mauritius has remained an opaque, obscure and elusive organisation. It keeps itself in the dark and appears that they do not want the population to know what they are up to. Having a long term appointed Commissioner can be problematic in bringing about changes. This is not healthy. Everybody knows there are many ways of rigging election and even books have been written on it. This is why EC should open its doors and emerge from the underground. EC seems to be practicing an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ democracy. It should be standing upright, detectable and strengthening democracy.
EC must hold open days and invite public to see what they are doing and engage in visibly working democratically. All its meetings must be open to the public and not held behind closed doors. Be upfront, be transparent and be democratic. Be prepared to be scrutinised by a committee of MPs, elders and the public. The public should demand openness and transparency. They should knock on the doors of the EC as soon as possible.
EC is not just an election entity. It ensures that democratic processes are observed and the choice of the population is respected. The population deserves the government it elects and this must not be short-circuited through corruption or dodgy election process or computer manipulation. EC safeguards the national and international reputation of our country. It can do so much more by portraying Mauritius as a gem in Africa with safe and sound election with fair processes.
Conclusion
The tradition of silence serves nobody. As our democracy grows older and the 55th birthday is approaching, there is a need to revisit the old canons of our culture. Mauritian cultural archives are rich and hopefully it brings about debate and awareness whether our principles are still fit for purpose or deserve some adjustments.
Our growing democracy or some might say autocracy must be informed by a sense of our history in which peace, conflict, struggle and protests are becoming prominent. What will shape the destiny of our paradise at the next election? Are we becoming an interventionalist democracy where the State intervenes or facilitates living aspirations?