ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC — The government of Dominica has welcomed the Electoral Commission’s decision to resume voter registration on March 9, while sharply criticizing what it described as a year-long breach of the law during the suspension of the process.
Addressing Parliament, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said the restoration of registration was essential to safeguarding democratic rights.
“The right of every eligible Dominican to be registered to vote is foundational to our democratic system,” the minister said. “It is particularly important for young citizens who have attained voting age and are seeking to exercise their constitutional right for the first time.”
Skerrit cited Section 17(1) of the Registration of Electors Act, which states: “There shall be continuous registration of persons qualified under this Act to be registered as electors.”
“This imposes a mandatory and ongoing statutory obligation,” the minister told lawmakers. “It does not contemplate suspension based on administrative convenience or technological readiness. The Act contains no provision authorizing the interruption of continuous registration.”
Voter registration was suspended for approximately a year, with the Electoral Commission indicating that required technology was not ready following the passage of the Registration of Electors Act, 2025.
The government described the interruption as a “serious administrative failure.”
“The Commission effectively created an administrative impasse through its own deliberate actions and then relied upon that impasse to justify non-compliance with the law,” the Prime Minister said.
He noted that the Commission had procured a biometric voter registration and confirmation system from Semlex International in 2017, capable of facial and fingerprint recognition. However, after the 2025 legislation was enacted, the Commission indicated that registration could not proceed under the previous framework and later acquired a second system from the same company in June 2025.
“Even if preferred technological systems were unavailable, the Commission remained legally obliged to continue registration by manual or legacy methods. It did not do so,” the minister said. “The consequence has been a year-long interruption of a statutory process that Parliament clearly intended to be continuous.”
He said the suspension had caused “public concern, anxiety and uncertainty,” adding that the ruling Dominica Labour Party had been unable for 12 months to carry out “a core responsibility of political organizations to bring new voters into the democratic process.”
While welcoming the March 9 resumption date, he said the circumstances surrounding the suspension must not be overlooked.
“Public confidence in the electoral system depends upon strict adherence to the law and the timely discharge of responsibilities by every institution entrusted with electoral administration,” the minister said.
The government also addressed voter registration identification requirements, stating that Parliament had intentionally provided an accessible alternative for citizens without government-issued identification.
Under Regulation 8(4) of the 2025 Act, a person may submit a passport-sized photograph certified by a Justice of the Peace. However, on October 14, 2025, the Electoral Commission issued SRO No. 39 of 2025, removing the certified photograph as an acceptable option.
“In doing so, the Commission departed from the clear intention of Parliament and from the expressed wishes of all political parties, thereby placing certain voters at a distinct disadvantage,” the minister said.
The government said it had asked the Commission to amend the regulations to reinstate the alternative identification provision and that the Commission had agreed to do so.
At the same time, Skerrit stressed that neither the government nor the ruling party had interfered in the Commission’s operations.
“The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the Dominica Labour Party have had no involvement whatsoever in the operational decisions or administrative processes of the Electoral Commission,” the minister said. “The Commission is an independent constitutional body.”
“Neither the Government nor the Dominica Labour Party directs, influences, or interferes with the decisions of the Electoral Commission, and we have not done so in this matter.”
The government also reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law and urged eligible citizens to register once the process resumes.
“Our democracy is strongest when institutions act within the law, transparently, and in a manner that earns and sustains public trust,” the Prime Minister said.
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