ROSEAU, Dominica, The Organization of American States (OAS) says there has been “little to no progress – either legislatively or administratively” – on any of the more than 50 electoral recommendations presented to Dominica since 2009.
“As a result, several stakeholders with whom the mission met questioned the usefulness of the organization’s continued engagement and the issuing of new recommendations,” said the OAS in its preliminary report of its Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) for the December 6 general elections here.
The elections, called two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, were won by the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. The party won 19 of the 21 seats after the main opposition political parties staged a boycott calling for electoral reform. The other two seats were won by independent candidates in the opposition strongholds of Marigot and Salisbury.
The OAS said the 2022 mission was the fourth, stating that each mission has offered a series of recommendations on how Dominica might address key issues related to its electoral framework and process.
“In many cases, recommendations have been restated by successive missions. In its discussions with Dominica’s electoral and other authorities, the 2022 Mission confirmed that there has been little to no progress – either legislatively or administratively – on any of the more than 50 recommendations presented to Dominica since 2009.”
While the EOM recognizes that the process to modernize Dominica’s electoral framework is now at an advanced stage, the OAS said it, nevertheless, offered its preliminary findings and recommendations for consideration as the process proceeds toward its conclusion.
It said these recommendations, for the most part, reiterate and seek to enhance those offered by previous OAS electoral observer missions.
The OAS said they are based on the mission’s further analysis of the electoral system, the information it gathered through discussions with national and electoral authorities, political parties, and civil society prior to the elections, and its observations on Election Day.
On voter identification, the OAS said Dominica remains one of the few countries in the Caribbean without a voter identification card.
Under the current legal framework, the OAS said voters are not required to show any form of picture identification when presenting themselves at the polling station.
It said there is also no mechanism inside the polling station to assist the presiding officer in identifying electors.
“As a result, the accurate identification of persons who present themselves to vote is largely dependent on the personal knowledge presiding officers and poll clerks may have of residents within the community.”
The OAS said several stakeholders interviewed by the mission suggested that it was likely poll workers would know the voters registered to vote at their polling station due to the small size of the polling divisions.
But the OAS said the mission observed few instances throughout the 15 constituencies where this seemed to be the case.
During its observation, the mission also noted several cases where voters with the same or very similar names and other demographic data were included in the Voters’ Lists posted at polling stations.
In one instance witnessed by an OAS observer, the OAS said neither the polling station staff nor the party representatives were able to “conclusively identify which of the names on their list related to a voter who had presented at the polling station.”
The EOM said standardized identification criteria or tools would assist in resolving similar occurrences, and while political and social stakeholders with whom the mission met generally support the implementation of an identification system, “there has been no consensus to date on the type of ID card that should be introduced.”
The EOM acknowledged that voter identification is one of the key issues in the ongoing discussion on electoral reform and, as indicated in its 2019 report, “reiterates that a voter identification system would significantly improve the security of Dominica’s electoral system.”
The EOM, therefore, recommends amending the House of Assembly (Elections) Act to provide the Electoral Commission with authority to collect and use electors’ data, including their photos and fingerprints; and considering the issuance of photo ID Cards to voters and the use of tools, to assist with the identification of voters.
The EOM also recommended amending the House of Assembly (Elections) Act to establish standards regarding the use of indelible ink, including the inspection of a voter’s fingers for the presence of electoral ink before they are allowed to vote, and a determination of how and when the ink should be applied to a voter’s fingers.
It urges the authorities to develop a training syllabus for Election Day workers that includes the form, duration, and content of training, establishes a set number of mandatory sessions for recruits, and urges Returning Officers to adhere to the established syllabus and select workers only after they have successfully completed their instruction “to ensure that only properly trained and knowledgeable persons are recruited to serve as Election Day workers.”
In order to achieve and maintain an accurate voter registry in Dominica, the EOM recommends amending the Registration of Electors Act to include a comprehensive enumeration exercise to replace the current Voters’ List and provide for its periodic verification, revising and updating registration forms to collect relevant demographic information from applicants and voters; and establishing “a unique identifier system that allows the civil registry and relevant institutions to provide unequivocal information that assists in removing deceased electors from the Voters’ List.”
Additionally, it recommends establishing procedures and guidelines to be followed by registration officers conducting residence verification and conducting field investigation to this end; and amending the Registration of Electors Act and regulations to provide the Chief Elections Officer with procedures to follow when voters are identified as living outside of Dominica for more than five years.
The mission urges the reconvening Constituency Boundaries Commission to conduct a review that takes population changes into account “in order to ensure, as far as possible, and within Dominica’s geographic context, an equitable distribution of voters: and developing regulations “to clearly establish the rules, procedures, and criteria to be followed in defining constituency and polling division boundaries and utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to demarcate these boundaries.”
The OAS said considering that the use of technology could “significantly improve the monitoring and control of these electoral processes,” recommended the introduction of a computerized results transmission system and the implementation of central computerized results receiving center in order to enhance quality controls and ensure greater security at the preliminary results stage.
It also recommends reviewing and discussing a “suitable timeline” for conducting the Claims and Objection Process, stating that the Judiciary should address election petitions and complete the hearings of all election-related offenses in “the shortest possible time.”
The EOM, headed by former Bahamas prime minister Perry Christie, wants the Dominican authorities to amend the existing rules on election petitions to provide administrative review and determination of appropriate election challenges prior to the holding of elections; and pursue comprehensive reform of the Voters’ List and identification of electors “in order to reduce the number of objections that can be presented in an election year and which would identify voters not entitled to vote.”
In order to strengthen accountability in the use of financial resources in Dominica’s electoral processes, it recommends consultation with all stakeholders to consider and develop regulations for a political party and campaign financing, including clear limits on campaign spending, disclosure of the sources of funding, regulation of anonymous and foreign contributions, and the establishment of limitations on private and in-kind donations to political and electoral campaigns.
The OAS said its model legislation on campaign financing may be “a useful starting point in this regard.”
ROSEAU, Dominica, The Organization of American States (OAS) says there has been “little to no progress – either legislatively or administratively” – on any of the more than 50 electoral recommendations presented to Dominica since 2009.
“As a result, several stakeholders with whom the mission met questioned the usefulness of the organization’s continued engagement and the issuing of new recommendations,” said the OAS in its preliminary report of its Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) for the December 6 general elections here.
The elections, called two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, were won by the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. The party won 19 of the 21 seats after the main opposition political parties staged a boycott calling for electoral reform. The other two seats were won by independent candidates in the opposition strongholds of Marigot and Salisbury.
The OAS said the 2022 mission was the fourth, stating that each mission has offered a series of recommendations on how Dominica might address key issues related to its electoral framework and process.
“In many cases, recommendations have been restated by successive missions. In its discussions with Dominica’s electoral and other authorities, the 2022 Mission confirmed that there has been little to no progress – either legislatively or administratively – on any of the more than 50 recommendations presented to Dominica since 2009.”
While the EOM recognizes that the process to modernize Dominica’s electoral framework is now at an advanced stage, the OAS said it, nevertheless, offered its preliminary findings and recommendations for consideration as the process proceeds toward its conclusion.
It said these recommendations, for the most part, reiterate and seek to enhance those offered by previous OAS electoral observer missions.
The OAS said they are based on the mission’s further analysis of the electoral system, the information it gathered through discussions with national and electoral authorities, political parties, and civil society prior to the elections, and its observations on Election Day.
On voter identification, the OAS said Dominica remains one of the few countries in the Caribbean without a voter identification card.
Under the current legal framework, the OAS said voters are not required to show any form of picture identification when presenting themselves at the polling station.
It said there is also no mechanism inside the polling station to assist the presiding officer in identifying electors.
“As a result, the accurate identification of persons who present themselves to vote is largely dependent on the personal knowledge presiding officers and poll clerks may have of residents within the community.”
The OAS said several stakeholders interviewed by the mission suggested that it was likely poll workers would know the voters registered to vote at their polling station due to the small size of the polling divisions.
But the OAS said the mission observed few instances throughout the 15 constituencies where this seemed to be the case.
During its observation, the mission also noted several cases where voters with the same or very similar names and other demographic data were included in the Voters’ Lists posted at polling stations.
In one instance witnessed by an OAS observer, the OAS said neither the polling station staff nor the party representatives were able to “conclusively identify which of the names on their list related to a voter who had presented at the polling station.”
The EOM said standardized identification criteria or tools would assist in resolving similar occurrences, and while political and social stakeholders with whom the mission met generally support the implementation of an identification system, “there has been no consensus to date on the type of ID card that should be introduced.”
The EOM acknowledged that voter identification is one of the key issues in the ongoing discussion on electoral reform and, as indicated in its 2019 report, “reiterates that a voter identification system would significantly improve the security of Dominica’s electoral system.”
The EOM, therefore, recommends amending the House of Assembly (Elections) Act to provide the Electoral Commission with authority to collect and use electors’ data, including their photos and fingerprints; and considering the issuance of photo ID Cards to voters and the use of tools, to assist with the identification of voters.
The EOM also recommended amending the House of Assembly (Elections) Act to establish standards regarding the use of indelible ink, including the inspection of a voter’s fingers for the presence of electoral ink before they are allowed to vote, and a determination of how and when the ink should be applied to a voter’s fingers.
It urges the authorities to develop a training syllabus for Election Day workers that includes the form, duration, and content of training, establishes a set number of mandatory sessions for recruits, and urges Returning Officers to adhere to the established syllabus and select workers only after they have successfully completed their instruction “to ensure that only properly trained and knowledgeable persons are recruited to serve as Election Day workers.”
In order to achieve and maintain an accurate voter registry in Dominica, the EOM recommends amending the Registration of Electors Act to include a comprehensive enumeration exercise to replace the current Voters’ List and provide for its periodic verification, revising and updating registration forms to collect relevant demographic information from applicants and voters; and establishing “a unique identifier system that allows the civil registry and relevant institutions to provide unequivocal information that assists in removing deceased electors from the Voters’ List.”
Additionally, it recommends establishing procedures and guidelines to be followed by registration officers conducting residence verification and conducting field investigation to this end; and amending the Registration of Electors Act and regulations to provide the Chief Elections Officer with procedures to follow when voters are identified as living outside of Dominica for more than five years.
The mission urges the reconvening Constituency Boundaries Commission to conduct a review that takes population changes into account “in order to ensure, as far as possible, and within Dominica’s geographic context, an equitable distribution of voters: and developing regulations “to clearly establish the rules, procedures, and criteria to be followed in defining constituency and polling division boundaries and utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to demarcate these boundaries.”
The OAS said considering that the use of technology could “significantly improve the monitoring and control of these electoral processes,” recommended the introduction of a computerized results transmission system and the implementation of central computerized results receiving center in order to enhance quality controls and ensure greater security at the preliminary results stage.
It also recommends reviewing and discussing a “suitable timeline” for conducting the Claims and Objection Process, stating that the Judiciary should address election petitions and complete the hearings of all election-related offenses in “the shortest possible time.”
The EOM, headed by former Bahamas prime minister Perry Christie, wants the Dominican authorities to amend the existing rules on election petitions to provide administrative review and determination of appropriate election challenges prior to the holding of elections; and pursue comprehensive reform of the Voters’ List and identification of electors “in order to reduce the number of objections that can be presented in an election year and which would identify voters not entitled to vote.”
In order to strengthen accountability in the use of financial resources in Dominica’s electoral processes, it recommends consultation with all stakeholders to consider and develop regulations for a political party and campaign financing, including clear limits on campaign spending, disclosure of the sources of funding, regulation of anonymous and foreign contributions, and the establishment of limitations on private and in-kind donations to political and electoral campaigns.
The OAS said its model legislation on campaign financing may be “a useful starting point in this regard.”
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