Mauritius Elects First Female President

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, age 56, was elected as the first female
President of Mauritius.
This Thursday the Parliament of  Mauritius, which received
independence from Britain in 1968, voted Gurib-Fakim’s into the
Presidential Office.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is the first woman to hold such position in
this country.

Her appointment came after former President Kailash Purryag, who
was selected by the island’s previous Labour Party government,
stepped down after having served as Mauritius’s President since
July of 2012.
Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth told reporters, “I have always
believed in the equality of men and women.”
Many officials from the opposition Party came out in support of her,
despite the political divide in Mauritius’s Parliament.
Her appointment was expected, and widely anticipated, after
information that Purryag’s January 2015 resignation was
announced.
People were not satisfied with candidate Navin Ramgoolam, the
previous Labour Party Prime Minister, because of multiple
corruption allegations against him.
Ramgoolam, one of the many connivers ousted by the new
upstanding government, was expelled from power following charges
of conspiracy, cronyism, and money-laundering.
In December of 2014 Ramgoolam’s future was secure and bright. He
created a new coalition that would have run off with the victory and
the consultation of more powers to the seat of the president (which
Ramgoolam would then run for) if the public had not turned against
the incumbent government.
Nonetheless, many are excited about this advancement and believe
that Mauritius is moving towards political success alongside its
economic success as one of Africa’s richest, democratic, and least
corrupt countries.
The recent government has been working for elections on the
platform of constitutional reform that focuses on strengthening
presidential powers.
According to officials her Inauguration ceremony will take place on
Friday.