Election Time in Mauritius

Last weekend, Mauritius held elections in the villages, and this weekend there will be elections in the 5 cities in the country.  Folks here get very excited about elections!  Lots of billboards, signs, cars decorated, sound trucks, rallies, and commotion, especially generated by the parties running candidates.  This year, a new law requires that ballots have no less than 33% women running, so there is a more gender balanced look to the candidate slates.  Our Embassy has been working to train women for political office, and Shelly and I have been invited to speak at women's political campaign training programs.  The U.S. doesn't endorse or promote any candidates or parties, but we sure want to see more women take leadership positions throughout the world.

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