ELECTORAL REFORMS: Rama’s report favours backdoor entry

When it became clear that the Carcassonne report, the sixth since Trustram-Eve (1958), failed to unblock  unanimity stalemate on electoral reforms, former Finance minister Rama Sithanen, hastily dusted off his PhD thesis and, biting off from other plans  more than he or any one can chew, came up with a report which has sent the population into a wilderness.
One cannot blame Rama if he has done a spit and polish job on other plans including Carcassonne’s proposal, for example, on replacing an MP who crosses the floor. Even Montesquieu, best known for his theory of separation of powers was influenced by Jean Bodin who is believed to represent the beginning of modern political thought.
You never know, once noted George W.Bush, what your history is going to be like until long after you are gone. Rama’s report is very tempting to the contemporary leaders for one simple reason: head or tail, they win.
The ease with which Rama was shuttling between the political leaders is a brainteaser. One wonders whether his report is not tailor-made. The double candidacy baffles the very principles of democracy. So does the reserved seats for women. By the way, he remains silent on the third gender, another visible minority group. Rama wants the leaders to be on board at any cost even when they are not elected by the people.
He justifies the party list with the wrong reasons: it opens backdoors entry to defeated leaders into the Parliament. “Razack Mohamed, a leading member of the Muslim community, would have entered Parliament with a Party List in 1976,” observes Rama (Page 53). Not to leave out other communities he goes on, “The same applies for Koenig in 1967, Duval in 1976, Ramgoolam in 1982, Bérenger in 1987, A. Jugnauth in 1995 and P. Jugnauth in 2005.”  
The people had used the ballot, not the bullet, to oust them. Yet Rama insists. He proposes ‘to allow double candidacies where some candidates will both appear on the party list and will compete in FPTP constituency elections’.
One would hate to think that self-respecting contemporary leaders like Ramgoolam, Bérenger and Jugnauth would agree to enter the Parliament through the backdoor.
Rama contradicts himself even on this point when he asks in his conclusion, ‘Have we reached the goalpost?’ It’s the team which scores at the goal post that wins the game. The referee does not start compensating proportionately for factors like ball possession.
Let’s not further meander with the weird gerrymandering system we have inherited from de Smith (1963) and Banwell (1966). Sachs (2002) and Carcassonne (2011) do not advocate double candidacies as opposed to Collendavelloo (2004).