Municipal Elections 2025 – BB/RH: The 'Small Parties' Face the Giant Alliance of Change
Title: Municipal Elections 2025 – BB/RH: The 'Small Parties' Face the Giant Alliance of Change
Who among the Reform Party, En Avant Moris, ML, or Vré ML can challenge the Alliance of Change in the Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill municipality? Each of these parties is gathering candidates in the sister cities ahead of the municipal elections.
The atmosphere is calm at 9 AM at the Coromandel Government School as the registration for the municipal election candidates officially opens on Saturday, April 5, 2025. A team of 12 officers has been present since 7 AM for final preparations. "We are still waiting for the first candidates. Clearly, an alliance will arrive at 9:30 AM and a party at 11:30 AM. The main difference from general elections is gender parity. Registrations will close at 3 PM. Then from 3 PM to 6 PM, we will check that parity is respected," comments Kevin Moorghen, Returning Officer for Ward 6 of Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill.
Indeed, at 9:30 AM, the four candidates from the Alliance of Change, their supporters, as well as Rajesh Bhagwan, Minister of Environment, and Karen Foo Kune-Bacha, Junior Minister of Youth and Sports, parade down the street. Waman Nihal Balgobin, Vijayambal Narainsamy, Daniel Pascal Gontier, and Hayattullah Sairally then enter the registration center for Ward 6 accompanied by Rajesh Bhagwan and Karen Foo Kune-Bacha along with their sponsors. About thirty minutes later, the procedures are completed.
"The team present is the standard-bearer for the Alliance of Change that will bring about change in the city of Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill. The population voted for change in November 2024 by sweeping away the ills of the former government. We now have the responsibility to restore the right to vote to the citizens. The candidates are committed to cleaning the cities. The citizens expect a lot from our team. We, the local MPs, have complete trust in the candidates of the Alliance of Change. They worked hard to help us get elected to the government, and we will work hard to get them elected in the municipalities," declares Rajesh Bhagwan.
Waman Nihal Balgobin is 28 years old. He is one of the young candidates from the Alliance of Change and the grandson of former politician Sookdeo Balgobin. "My family has always been in politics. I have a grandfather who was elected. So, politics is in my blood. I was very active in the constituency during the 2024 general elections for the Labour Party. […] For 10 years, the MSM has confiscated the right to vote from the citizens. We have never seen this city in such a state. As a young person - if I’m not mistaken, I am the youngest candidate from the Alliance of Change - I make myself available to the city to regain its former glory. A nou netway nou lavil," says Waman Nihal Balgobin.
Vijayambal Narainsamy is the daughter-in-law of Guy Narainsamy from the Labour Party. "I have red blood. I married into a family with red blood. At 94 years old, Guy Narainsamy is still part of this world and has remained loyal to the Labour Party. I thank Navin Ramgoolam for his trust, as well as Paul Bérenger. I will work for Coromandel. I hope we will go towards a great victory," declares Vijayambal Narainsamy.
The president of the Electoral Supervisory Commission, Me Christine Sauzier, toured the registration centers. "It is going very well. We are proceeding as usual with the tour of the centers. So far, everything is very calm and happening in a disciplined manner. I hope it stays that way. We are checking that everything is done in accordance with the law. We only have a supervisory role," explains Me Christine Sauzier.
At 11 AM, Anil Gayan, president of Vré ML (Muvman Liberater), enters the Coromandel registration center accompanied by his three teammates. "Our party is Vré ML because we cannot work with an ML that has deviated and betrayed the principles on which we built it. That’s why I had to create this party. Alain Aliphon has already been elected and has several projects to his credit. Marguerite Guillaume is a well-known social worker in the area. Alain Cerveaux has been deputy mayor here. I have been a local MP and a minister. We believe we have a strong foundation. An election is an election. Our party has just been born. The Alliance of Change claimed they won the elections 60-0, but that is no longer the case; now it’s 59-1 because Franco Quirin is no longer part of it. Many promises from the Alliance of Change have not been kept. Our message to the citizens is: can we trust the Alliance of Change again with more promises?" asserts Anil Gayan, who regrets that the government did not reform local authorities before the municipal elections.
The party En Avant Moris presents 24 candidates only in the city of Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill. Nita Juddoo, the party's president, is a candidate in ward number 5. She was accompanying the candidates of ward number 6 when Le Dimanche/L’Hebdo met her.
"We are presenting ourselves in Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill. This is our preferred city. It is here that En Avant Moris originated. I see great excitement for these elections. For two years now, we have been working on our electoral program. We are listening to the citizens. We have sat down with them to prepare not an ambitious program, but a realistic one. We believe we must tackle the main problems of the citizens. These elections are a forum for En Avant Moris because we work even when we are not elected. For the past two or three years, Patrick Belcourt, the leader, and his team have been very active on the ground. We have done a lot of activities," supports Nita Juddoo.
Ken Fong, former mayor of Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill, registered as a candidate in ward number 2 at the Stanley Government School registration center. He defends his record. "There are many independent parties positioning themselves, which is very good for democracy. Everything is going very well. Elections are neither won nor lost in advance. We need to work. After being mayor and a councilor, I cannot not be a candidate under the banner of Muvman Liberater. We feel we have worked well, whether on David Utile’s side or mine. The record is palpable: we talk about the Plaza, Balfour Garden, Arab Town, and other infrastructures. We have created drains. Before, when it rained, there were floods. The drains work, more or less," comments Ken Fong.
David Utile is also a candidate in ward number 4. "With a lot of simplicity and humility, we have worked for the city. We then said: why not? We will continue to see what we can do for the city. We have a team that combines experience and youth. We are here to work," says the former mayor of Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill.
Some candidates in Beau-Bassin-Rose-Hill:
Ward 1
Linion Moris:
-Richard Anthony Legrand
-Jean Andy Adriano Mamode Hossen
-Marie Micheline Lajeune
-Alain Bruno Fantaisie
En Avant Moris:
-Sandir Saminaden
-Maryse Gilberte Busooa
-Janeel Kavirsingh Chady
-Rodney Kersley Laval Piang-Nee
Muvman Liberater (ML):
-Sanjay Gokool
-Marie Rachel Henri
-Abdool Monaf Radim
-Kessavadee Kandassamy Mootoosamy
Alliance of Change:
-Atish Kumar Aubeeluck
-Iqbal Calcaleea
-Jayakristina Miniandee
-Marie Noëlle Sindy Christian
Reform Party:
-Goinsamy Samoo
-Jagan Waden Mawikkam
-Mary Jessica Virginie
-Jean-Fabrice Vincent Jacques
Ward 6
Alliance of Change:
-Waman Nihal Balgobin
-Vijayambal Narainsamy
-Daniel Pascal Gontier
-Hayattullah Sairally
En Avant Moris:
-Amit Kumar Ramchurit
-Pratima Buron
-Doreen Shirley Booth
-Jaques Daniel Esther
Vré ML:
-Anil Kumarsingh Gayan
-Jules Alain Cerveaux
-Marguerite Guillaume
-Jean Nel Alain Aliphon
Reform Party
-Jean Stephano Denis Sylvio
-Satakshi Devi Mishradaby
-Mahesswar Bhuttoo
-Youven Jani-Thavitigadu
