ROSEAU, Dominica, Four days before the snap general election is held, the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) is reiterating its appeal for a postponement of the elections until electoral reform is completed.
The Electoral Office here has said that six members of the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP), including Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, have been elected unopposed and that the elections on Tuesday will be for the other 15 seats in the Parliament. The DLP is contesting all the seats, and there are also a number of independent candidates.
Prime Minister Skerrit called the December 6 poll two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, but the UWP and other opposition forces are boycotting the poll claiming that promised electoral reform, including the provision of identification cards, has not been completed.
“…we continue to hold firm to the view that this process, which has been started, must be completed before the holding of general elections in Dominica. To the members of the United Workers Party and the overwhelming number of Dominicans, resolving the issue of Electoral Reform is non-negotiable,” the UWP said in a statement.
“After all, rectifying issues of a bloated voters list and the non-issuance of identification cards are at the heart of our democratic system. We note that Sir Dennis Byron, who was appointed by the government of Dominica to review our electoral process, has completed his initial work and will shortly be providing the government of Dominica and us with his draft report and a copy of the supporting draft legislation.
“We continue to urge the government of Dominica to urgently implement the required reforms and commit to the holding of fresh elections as soon as the process is complete,” said the party.
The UWP, which won three of the 21 seats in the 2019 general elections, said that the announcement of the “sham” December 6 election, without promised electoral reforms, “was the main reason why our party decided to withdraw its participation from the polls.
“In that regard, we call upon the election observers coming in from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Organization of American States to take careful note of the vexing circumstances under which this snap election is being conducted.”
It said an election process that is “so deeply flawed and weighted in favor of the ruling party should never be considered as being either free or fair.
“Based on the current threat to our democracy, the United Workers Party again calls on His Excellency the President (Charles Savarin) to exercise his executive authority granted under Article 58 of our country’s Constitution, to suspend his election writ, and postpone the holding of elections until such a time that the electoral reform process is complete.
“Furthermore, we call upon the regional governments and the international community to denounce the holding of this election and also not to recognize whichever government that emerges out of this process,” the UWP said, adding that it is “doing everything within its legal and constitutional rights to ensure that electoral reforms are completed.”
The party said that it would be joining with the Electoral Reform Coalition, comprising a number of opposition parties, civil society organizations, and the Public Service Union (PSU), in staging a number of activities “to strengthen our demand for electoral reforms.”
The party said that on Saturday, it would be part of a drive-through on the west coast of the island, followed by a national day of prayer on Sunday, while on Monday, it is planning “a massive public meeting and candlelight vigil” in the capital.
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