JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius will hold a national election Sunday, when Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth seeks to win a second term as leader of a nation often praised as one of Africa's success stories.
Mauritius, which sits about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) off Africa's east coast, is recognized as one of the continent's most stable democracies and has developed a successful economy underpinned by its finance, tourism and agricultural sectors since gaining independence from Britain in 1968.
Jugnauth, 62, has been prime minister since 2017, when he succeeded his father. An alliance of parties led by his center-left Militant Socialist Movement won a majority of seats in Parliament to cement his leadership in 2019. Mauritius has a long history of parties joining in alliances to contest elections. The MSM has led the government since 2009.
Jugnauth's five-party People's Alliance will be challenged by opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam's Alliance for Change in this weekend's election.
Mauritians will vote for 62 seats in Parliament, and the party or alliance with a majority forms the government and chooses the prime minister. Another eight lawmakers are nominated by the Electoral Supervisory Council.
The World Bank has described Mauritius, a former colony of sugar plantations, as a “beacon of success for sub-Saharan Africa” and says it has achieved remarkable economic growth since independence. Mauritius was briefly rated a high-income country in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic set it back. It still has one of the highest standards of living in Africa.
The island, well known to tourists for its idyllic tropical beaches, has a population of just over 1 million people. It ranks second in Africa behind Seychelles on the Human Development Index, which ranks quality of life for citizens and takes into account life expectancy, access to education and per capita income.
The country has a strong Indian influence. More than 60% of Mauritians have Indian heritage and people speak Mauritian Creole, a French-based language with some English and other influences.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a U.S. Congress-funded academic institution, said Mauritius’ stability and strong governance have made it a popular destination for financial investment.
“This has translated into high-quality health care, increased educational opportunities, and a 22% increase in per capita income over the past decade,” the center said in a pre-election analysis.
Jugnauth's own image was burnished last month when the British government agreed to give sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Mauritius had claimed the archipelago as its territory for more than 50 years.
Yet a countrywide ban on social media a week ago in response to a wiretapping scandal raised criticism of Jugnauth's government and prompted some political turmoil ahead of the election.
Nicole Beardsworth, a political researcher at Johannesburg's University of Witwatersrand, said some Mauritians were also left unhappy after allegations of irregularities in the 2019 election.
The wiretapping scandal saw recordings of the private conversations of politicians, police officers, business figures and others published online, prompting the government to block social media sites. The ban was initially ordered to remain in place until after the election but has been lifted. It raised questions from critics if authorities were behind the wiretapping.
The Reporters Without Borders organization, which promotes the right to freedom of information and media independence, said five well-known Mauritian journalists were also tapped and had their conversations leaked, and called for an investigation. The scandal indicated “a widespread system of surveillance" in Mauritius, the group said.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
FILE—Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
The island of Mauritius, praised as an African success story, will hold its national election
The island of Mauritius, praised as an African success story, will hold its national election
CETINJE, Montenegro (AP) — Shock and dismay prevailed in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 people, including two children, in a western town before killing himself.
At least four others were wounded in the shooting rampage in Cetinje on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl, officials said. This was the second such incident in the town in the past three years.
Hundreds gathered on Thursday evening at the main square in Cetinje for a candlelight vigil in the memory of the victims.
Police Commissioner Lazar Šćepanović described Wednesday’s shooting as “one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Montenegro.”
He said at a news conference that the victims included seven men, three women and two children, born in 2011 and 2016.
“Most of the victims were people he knew, his closest friends and relatives,” including the shooter’s sister, Šćepanović said. “This criminal act wasn’t planned or organized. It was unpredictable.”
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner's children and his own family members, officials have said.
The attacker, who first fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. He died after shooting himself in the head, police said.
Residents of Cetinje, a town of some 17,000 people, were stunned and grief-stricken.
"I knew all of these people personally, also the attacker. I think when he did that, he was out of his mind," said Vesko Milošević, a retiree from Cetnje. "What do I know, he went from place to place and killed people. Its a catastrophe.”
Vanja Popović, whose relatives are among the victims, said that “we are all in shock.”
“How can I feel after this?" Popović said. "No one expected it. You can’t even ask anyone anything.”
Police had dispatched a special unit to search for the attacker in the town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Podgorica, the country's capital. All roads in and out of Cetinje were blocked for hours as police swarmed the streets.
Police said that the shooter had died while being taken to a hospital in the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his injuries.”
Officials have said that the attacker was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted. He then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.
Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić said Thursday that the attacker went to six locations during the shooting rampage, including the last one, where he shot himself.
Four men were killed at the bar, she said. The shooter then moved on to another location where he killed four more people, and then two children at a third site. He then went on to kill two more people at two other locations before eventually shooting himself, Nastić said.
“Further investigation will determine the exact circumstances of the events,” she added.
The government has declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday, and all planned New Year's festivities have been canceled throughout the country.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said that the government may try to impose a total ban on weapons “because we must ask ourselves after this who should be allowed to have guns in Montenegro.”
The small Adriatic Sea nation, which has a population of around 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
In August 2022 in Cetinje, which is Montenegro’s historic capital, an attacker killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby.
Police have said that the suspect in Wednesday's shooting received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and had appealed his latest conviction for illegal weapons possession. Montenegrin media have reported that he was known for erratic and violent behavior.
“Instead of holiday joy ... we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Montenegro's President Jakov Milatović said in a post on X.
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Dušan Stojanović contributed to this report from Belgrade, Serbia.
A view of blood by the door of a bar after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A police car outside a house after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a bar after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a police vehicle at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a police vehicle at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police officers stand guard at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police officers stand guard at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A police officer stands guard at the scene after a shooting incident at a bar, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Rescue workers work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)