Mauritius opposition leader claims crushing vote win

Mauritius opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam declared on Tuesday that his alliance had won a crushing election victory over the ruling coalition, after Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth conceded he faced a "huge defeat".

Ramgoolam, a two-time former prime minister, told crowds of cheering supporters in his constituency that his Alliance of Change had made a clean sweep of parliamentary seats on the island of Mauritius.

"I hope PKJ resigns soon. He was beaten 60-0," Ramgoolam said, referring to Jugnauth.

"The power of the people is stronger than a dictatorship," the 77-year-old added to boisterous cheers and blaring horns.

There were 60 National Assembly seats up for grabs on the island of Mauritius and another two on Rodrigues in Sunday's election. The remaining eight are allocated under what is dubbed the "best loser" system.

Final results have yet to be officially released from the vote in what is considered one of Africa's richest and most stable democracies.

But Jugnauth had said on Monday that his Lepep alliance, led by his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), was "heading towards a huge defeat".

The winner-takes-all election model means single coalitions often dominate the 70-seat parliament.

Only last month, Jugnauth, who has been in office since 2017, was celebrating a historic deal with Britain that gives Mauritius regain sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after a long-running dispute.

But the vote was overshadowed by an explosive wire-tapping scandal, when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats, members of civil society and journalists were leaked online.