Independent Forward Bloc
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The Independent Forward Bloc (IFB) was a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
.


History

The Independent Forward Bloc (IFB) party was founded by Sookdeo Bissoondoyal on 13 April 1958. In the 1930s, the movement Jan Andolan had been founded by Sookdeo's elder brother Basdeo Bissoondoyal in order to educate the rural mass and was instrumental in the record high participation of working-class people at the 1948 Legislative Council general elections which were ground-breaking for being the first ever application of the principle of
universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
in Mauritius. To fully participate in the Jan Andolan's struggle for social justice Sookdeo Bissoondoyal resigned from the Civil Service in 1946 after 22 years of service as a school teacher. With the advent of the new political party IFB officially progressed the Jan Andolan's mission on the political front. IFB was an important partner in the coalition of 3 major parties that formed part of the Independence Party (Mauritius) which won the 1967 General Elections and paved the way to official independence from British colonial rule in 1968. Unpaid volunteers supported the IFB, in a manner similar to its predecessor the Jan Andolan movement. It also received the support of Dr Charles Edgar Millien, who was also advocating for democracy through his newspaper ''L'Oeuvre''. In 1946 a public meeting held by Guy Rozemont and Sookdeo Bissoondoyal was attended by a massive crowd in
Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
at the Jardin de la Compagnie. By 1947 the new Constitution had been enacted which led to the first exercise of universal suffrage in 1948. During the electoral campaign of 1948 Sookdeo Bissoondoyal canvassed the Port Louis electorate to vote for Guy Rozemont and Charles Edgar Millien who were voted to the Legislative Council.


Electoral success

Prior to the formation of IFB its founder Sookdeo Bissoondoyal had been elected to Legislative Council in 1948 and 1953. At the 1959 elections the IFB secured 6 out of 40 seats in the Legislative Council. At the 1963 elections the IFB secured 7 out of 40 seats in the Legislative Council. Leading up to the 1967 elections the IFB joined the pro-independence coalition which became known as Independence Party and IFB secured 11 out of 62 seats in the Legislative Council. Although the IFB was part of the ruling 1967 coalition, by 1969 it had become an opposition party, alongside Union Démocratique Mauricienne (UDM) in the Legislative Assembly following disagreements between leaders of Parti Travailliste (PTr),
CAM Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...
and IFB. The death of IFB member of parliament and former
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Lall Jugnauth in August 1970 triggered the 21 September 1970 by-elections in Constituency No.5 (Pamplemousses-Triolet) which resulted in the election of the first ever MMM parliamentarian
Dev Virahsawmy Dev Virahsawmy (16 March 1942 – 7 November 2023) was a Mauritian politician, playwright, poet and advocate of the Mauritian Creole language. Though he wrote easily in both French and English, Virahsawmy was most renowned for his efforts to po ...
. IFB's leader Sookdeo Bissoondoyal was
Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 1971 to 1976. During the campaign leading to the 1976 elections the IFB had opted to stay out of the Independence Party where Labour Party and
CAM Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...
remained. Soon after the December 1976 elections the PMSD joined the IP coalition to remain in power until 1982, although the MMM had won most of the seats without forming any alliances with rival parties. However no IFB candidate was elected at the 1976 elections.


References

{{Mauritian political parties Defunct political parties in Mauritius Socialist parties in Mauritius Political parties established in 1958 1958 establishments in Mauritius