ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC -The Electoral Reform Coalition (ERC) claims that several recommendations have been omitted from draft legislation as the government moves ahead with its efforts to bring proposed electoral modernization legislation to Parliament before yearend as part of the electoral reform process in Dominica.
In June last year, Sir Dennis Byron, the former president of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), submitted a report on electoral reform to the Dominica government.
Sir Dennis had been the sole commissioner advancing the efforts towards electoral reform, a significant issue with the opposition parties, the United Workers Party (UWP) and the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) boycotting the last general election.
The boycott led to the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) securing 19 21 seats, with the remainder going to independent candidates.
The opposition parties have called for electoral reform, including a clean voter list and identification cards.
The ERC said that among the recommendations made by Sir Dennis Byron that have been inexplicably deleted from the draft legislation are provisions related to campaign financing and that the draft legislation fails to adequately address residency, voter identification, and reregistration requirements.
ERC public relations officer Washborne Cuffy said the group, which held a virtual meeting on Tuesday night that focused on the deleted recommendations from Sir Dennis’ draft legislation, will have a rally in the capital on July 7. Listen to audio
“The ERC is heightening its activities in that regard. There will be a major electoral reform rally …which will be held on the seventh of July.
“The Electoral Reform Coalition is very concerned that the revised draft legislation submitted by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has deleted some critical recommendations made by Sir Dennis Byron, which would meet some of the demands for electoral reform.”
Cuffy said that the government’s draft legislation “completely omitted all provisions relating to campaign financing, one of the most vexing issues. In addition to deleting the much-needed campaigning financing regulations, the prime minister’s draft legislation fails to adequately address the issue of residency, voter identification and requirement.”
Cuffy said the ERC is appealing to the private sector, religious, and civil society organizations “to demand that Sir Dennis Byron’s deleted recommendations be reinstated into any legislation that goes to Parliament.”
In May, the government said it had provided the Electoral Commission (EC) with copies of the proposed electoral modernization legislation. The submission followed extensive public debates, discussions, written recommendations from individuals and entities, and prolonged government-initiated electoral reform consultation.
The government said that copies of the proposed legislation have also been provided to President Sylvanie Burton and will be published on the government website and other media platforms for public review.
Copies will also be forwarded to the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat.
The proposed legislation provides for the Registration of Electors Act and Regulations 2024;
The House of Assembly (Elections) Act and Regulations 2024 incorporates the House of Assembly (Election Petition) Rules 2024 and The Electoral Commission Act 2024.
“We intend to have this finalized in June so that all the necessary budgetary allocations can be made in the upcoming financial estimates to give the electoral commission not only the legislative mandate but also the financial resources required to advance the implementation of the electoral reform process,” Skerrit said upon the release of the documents.
“We have committed, and we have kept that commitment. I hope we will appreciate the draft bills addressing the fundamental concerns of certain public sections. Also, we have taken note of the observations and recommendations of our international partners,” he added.
The government said it is confident that the proposed drafts address the principal areas of immediate concern and will set Dominica on a firm path to a comprehensive modernization of the electoral process.
Download audio – ERC Public Relations Officer Washbourne Cuffy
and then  claims that several recommendations have been omitted from draft legislation){kind=link}