The prime minister of Mauritius has accepted that his coalition, L’Alliance Lepep, has suffered a “huge defeat” following Sunday’s parliamentary election.

“The population has decided to choose another team,” Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told journalists on Monday.

Jugnauth was seeking a second five-year term, but his main rival, Navin Ramgoolam, leader of the Alliance of Change coalition, looks set to become the next leader of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Mauritius is known as one of Africa’s most stable democracies but this election was tainted by a phone-tapping scandal with leaked recordings of public figures posted online.

In response, the government issued a social media ban until after the election, although this led to an outcry and the decision was reversed within 24 hours.

Final results are yet to be released but Ramgoolam’s party looks set to win.

“We must respect this choice… and we wish the country and the population good luck,” said Jugnauth.

The vote comes after a historic agreement in which the UK gave up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.