Thyagarajen Valayden (Appellant) v The State of Mauritius and 2 others (Respondents) (Mauritius)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2026/0024

Jurisdiction

Mauritius

Parties

Appellant(s)

Thyagarajen Valayden

Respondent(s)

The State of Mauritius, The Honourable Prime Minister, The Attorney General

Issue

Must Section 1 of the Constitution of Mauritius be construed to encompass a constitutional principle for the holding of regular and periodic local government elections, either expressly or by necessary implication? If so, does a proper construction impose limits on the National Assembly of Mauritius’s legislative power as regards a statutory executive power to postpone local government elections?

Facts

The Local Government Act 2011 (the “Act”) of the Mauritian Parliament establishes the legal framework for the timing of elections of Municipal City Councils and Municipal Town Councils (together, “Municipal Councils”). S11(1)(a) of the Act provides that elections for councillors would be held every 6 years from 2015, or otherwise as appointed by the President on the Prime Minister’s advice. Elections were duly held for Municipal Councils on 14 June 2015. At the time of the Covid pandemic, the Act was amended by the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2021 (the “2021 Act”). The 2021 Act introduced a new s12A(1), which would apply “at any time when there is, or there is likely to be, an epidemic of a communicable disease in Mauritius; and a quarantine period is in force in Mauritius”. In these circumstances, s12A(1) enabled the President, acting on the Prime Minister’s advice, to extend “from time to time” the 6-year life of Municipal City Councils by proclamation, 1 year at a time and for a maximum of 2 years. This power was exercised to extend the life of the Municipal Councils twice, each time for a year, from 15 June 2021 and 14 June 2022. S12A of the 2021 Act was further amended by the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2023 (the “2023 Act”) (becoming s12A(1A) of the 2023 Act) to enable the President, again with the Prime Minister’s advice, to extend by proclamation the life of the Municipal Councils for a further 2 years, notwithstanding the limitations on the use of that power in the 2021 Act. The President accordingly extended the life of Municipal Councils for a further period of 2 years as from 13 June 2023. The Appellant is a citizen of Mauritius and is eligible to vote as well as stand as a candidate in his local Municipal Council elections. On 2 June 2023, he filed an application for constitutional redress before the Supreme Court of Mauritius. The application sought declaratory relief under Section 83 of the Constitution1 that s12A(1A) of the 2023 Act contravenes Sections 1 and 45 of the Constitution of Mauritius. Section 1 establishes Mauritius as a “sovereign democratic State” and section 45, “subject to this Constitution”, empowers Parliament to “make laws for the peace, order and good government of Mauritius”. The application submitted the infringement impacted the Appellant’s interests on the basis of the legitimate expectation that he would have the opportunity to vote and stand as candidate in Municipal Council elections in 2023. The Appellant’s application was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Mauritius and the Appellant was granted leave to appeal as of right to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Date of issue

23 March 2026

Case origin

Appeal As of Right

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