ANTANANARIVO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam on Wednesday dissolved parliament, saying his country would hold elections on May 5 this year, reports from Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, said.

"This afternoon, I have informed the President of the Republic that I shall dissolve the National Assembly today. I have decided to call the country for the elections on May 5," the 62-year-old premier declared on state television and local radio.

Ramgoolam said he made the decision to end the speculations about the date of the elections as uncertainties were rising to threaten the national economy.

He had promised to make 2009 the year of the economy and 2010 the year of elections. "The hour of the democratic rendez-vous has arrived. I have arrived at the end of my mandate," he said.