Bodha Wants Two-Term Limits for PM, President and Top Officials

Nando Bodha, leader of the Rassemblement Mauricien (RM) political party, has proposed capping the number of terms that holders of Mauritius's most senior constitutional positions can serve. Speaking at a party press conference on Friday 30 October, he called for a two-term maximum to apply to the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic, the Commissioner of Police, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The DPP is the independent public official responsible for deciding whether criminal charges are brought before the courts, while the Commissioner of Police heads the Mauritius Police Force. Both are constitutional posts, meaning they are established and protected under the country's constitution rather than by ordinary legislation.

Bodha anchored his argument in the Westminster parliamentary tradition that Mauritius inherited from Britain. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, he said, an unwritten convention exists that leaders step down when they lose an election. That culture of renewal, he argued, is largely absent in Mauritius, where the same figures can dominate political life across decades without any formal check on their tenure.

"The problem is that in Mauritius, this convention does not exist," Bodha said, according to the remarks reported at the press conference.

His proposal is framed around two goals: renewing institutions that he sees as too dependent on entrenched personalities, and opening the highest levels of the state to a younger generation of politicians and public servants.

What this means: If enacted, two-term limits would represent a significant departure from Mauritius's current constitutional framework, which imposes no such restrictions on any of the posts Bodha mentioned. A Prime Minister can theoretically serve indefinitely as long as they command a parliamentary majority, and independent officers like the DPP and Commissioner of Police hold office without a set term ceiling beyond normal retirement rules. Introducing formal limits would require constitutional amendments, which under the Mauritius Constitution demand a three-quarters majority in the National Assembly for certain provisions. That makes any such reform politically demanding and dependent on broad cross-party support.

Bodha has championed constitutional reform and good governance causes for several years. The RM is a smaller opposition grouping, and while the party's proposal is unlikely to advance without the backing of larger political forces, it adds to a growing public conversation in Mauritius about accountability, institutional independence and the concentration of power.

Source: ION News