
Mauritius celebrates Independence Day Every year on the 12th March, Mauritians enjoy a public holiday to celebrate the anniversary of independence from Britain. In 2015, the country marks 47 years from the day independence was proclaimed in 1968.
The campaign for independence gathered pace during the early 1960s, following a slow but steady move towards home rule in the late 1940s and 50s. A new constitution was granted to Mauritius in 1947 in which the vote was given to women for the first time. The requirement that voters must own property was also removed. These two measures resulted in a huge increase in the electorate – from 12,000 to almost 72,000 people – and following elections in 1948, a new Legislative Assembly was born, formed of 12 governor-appointed members and 19 voted for by the public.