Daily Times

Mauritius votes Sunday in an election overshadowed by a wire-tapping scandal that has rocked the Indian Ocean archipelago amid fears that rights are eroding in one of Africa’s biggest success stories.

The legislative poll comes as the country celebrates the historic deal last month that saw Britain relinquish sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running legal dispute.

But Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth’s hopes of an easy re-election were battered when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats and journalists began to be leaked online in October.

The authorities responded last week by banning social media until after the election. But an uproar from the opposition and local media forced an embarrassing climbdown within 24 hours.

Mauritius, a country of 1.3 million people, has seen remarkable stability and growth since independence from Britain in 1968, building an economy based on tourism, manufacturing and financial services.

More than one million people are registered to vote in the 12th legislative election in Mauritius since independence, but there are fears that its lauded democracy is eroding.