politics

the head of state of mauritius is the president, who is elected for a five-year term by the national assembly, the unicameral mauritian parliament. the national assembly consists of 62 members elected directly by popular vote, with between four and eight further members appointed from "best losers" election candidates to represent ethnic minorities, if under represented after the elections. the government is headed by the prime minister and a council of ministers.the government is elected on a five-year basis. the most recent general elections took place on 3 july 2005 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, as well as the constituency covering the island of rodrigues.

historically, elections have always had a tendency to adhere to a system comprising two major coalitions of parties.in international affairs, mauritius is part of the indian ocean commission, the southern african development community and the commonwealth of nations and la francophonie (french speaking countries) amongst others. a more complete list can be found in the main politics of mauritius article.in 2006, mauritius asked to be an observing member of community of portuguese language countries (cplp) in order to become closer to those countries.