Leader of the Opposition (Mauritius)

Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Mauritius
Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Mauritius
Chef de l'opposition
	Coat of arms of Mauritius
	Flag of Mauritius
	Incumbent; Georges Lesjongard; since 15 November 2024
Style	The Honourable
Reports to	The President of the Republic of Mauritius
Appointer	The President of the Republic of Mauritius
Term length	While leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government
Inaugural holder	Sir Gaëtan Duval
Formation	12 March 1968
Salary	Rs 1.9 Million

The Leader of the Opposition (French: Leader de l'opposition) of the Republic of Mauritius is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in Mauritius. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the National Assembly that is not in government.

This office is a constitutional one guaranteed by the laws of the country. The incumbent officeholder automatically becomes 7th in the order of precedence. The current Leader of the Opposition is Georges Pierre Lesjongard, more commonly known as Joe Lesjongard, who was appointed on 15 November 2024.

Overview

The political party or party alliance which wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government and its leader usually becomes the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister selects the members of the composition of the Cabinet from elected members of the Assembly, except for the Attorney General who may not be an elected member of the Assembly. The political party or alliance which has the second-largest majority forms the Official Opposition and its leader is normally nominated by the President of the Republic as the Leader of the Opposition.^[1]

According to Section 73 of the Constitution of Mauritius, there shall be a Leader of the Opposition who shall be appointed by the President, 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 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.^[2]

List of leaders of the opposition

No.	Leader (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation
No.	Leader (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Elected	Political affiliation
Mauritius (1968–1992)
1.	Sir Gaëtan Duval (1930–1996)		7 August 1967	23 December 1969	1967		Mauritian Social Democratic Party
2.	Maurice Lesage (1923–1992)^[3]		1969	October 1973			Union Démocratique Mauricienne (UDM) (splinter group of the PMSD)
3.	Sookdeo Bissoondoyal (1907–1977)		23 October 1973	23 December 1976			Independent Forward Bloc (IFB)
4.	Sir Anerood Jugnauth (1930–2021)		23 December 1976	11 June 1982	1976		Mauritian Militant Movement
(1)	Sir Gaëtan Duval (1930–1996)		11 June 1982	21 August 1983	1982		Mauritian Social Democratic Party
5.	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		21 August 1983	15 September 1987	1983		Mauritian Militant Movement
6.	Prem Nababsing (1940–2017)		15 September 1987	15 September 1991	1987		Mauritian Militant Movement
7.	Dr. Navin Ramgoolam (born 1947)		15 September 1991	Continued	1991		Labour Party
Republic of Mauritius (from 12 March 1992 onwards)
7.	Dr. Navin Ramgoolam (born 1947)		Continued	20 December 1995			Labour Party
8.	Nicholas Von Mally		20 December 1995	11 September 1997	1995		Rodrigues Movement
(5)	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		11 September 1997	11 September 2000	1995		Mauritian Militant Movement
(7)	Dr. Navin Ramgoolam (born 1947)		11 September 2000	5 July 2005	2000		Labour Party
(5)	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		5 July 2005	4 April 2006	2005		Mauritian Militant Movement
9.	Nando Bodha (born 1954)		4 April 2006	27 September 2007	2005		Militant Socialist Movement
(5)	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		27 September 2007	23 January 2013	2010		Mauritian Militant Movement
10.	Alan Ganoo (born 1951)		23 January 2013	1 October 2013			Mauritian Militant Movement
(5)	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		1 October 2013	15 September 2014			Mauritian Militant Movement
11.	Pravind Jugnauth (born 1961)		15 September 2014	17 December 2014			Militant Socialist Movement
(5)	Paul Bérenger (born 1945)		17 December 2014	20 December 2016	2014		Mauritian Militant Movement
12.	Xavier-Luc Duval (born 1958)		20 December 2016	14 November 2019	2014		Mauritian Social Democratic Party
13.	Arvin Boolell (born 1953)		14 November 2019	1 March 2021	2019		Labour Party
(12)	Xavier-Luc Duval (born 1958)		4 March 2021	15 April 2024			Mauritian Social Democratic Party
14.	Shakeel Mohamed (born 1968)		15 April 2024	3 June 2024			Labour Party
(13)	Arvin Boolell (born 1953)		28 May 2024	12 November 2024			Labour Party
15.	Georges Lesjongard	Georges Lesjongard - Leader of the Opposition - Republic of Mauritius	15 November 2024	Incumbent	2024		Militant Socialist Movement