ROSEAU, Dominica, November 8, The sole Commissioner to advance efforts towards electoral reform in Dominica, Sir Dennis Byron, had proposed presenting the first phase of his report by the end of November with the Parliament tabling the Register of Elector’s legislation in December and the plan to enact it in January 2023.
But such plans may have been scuttled after Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Sunday announced December 6 this year as the date for a snap general election, three years after he led the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) to an 18-3 defeat of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) in the December 6, 201’9 poll.
They had demanded electoral reform ahead of the last general election, but the Skerrit administration said it had been stymied by Opposition legislators who refused to debate the necessary legislation needed to advance the electoral reform process.
The UWP tried to get the 2019 general elections postponed to February the following year on the grounds that there was a need for electoral reform, more specifically, the issuance of picture identification cards and a cleansing of the voters’ list.