The ruling Dominica Labour Party has won an unprecedented fifth term in power following parliamentary elections held in the Commonwealth of Dominica on the 6th of December. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit also retained his seat in the Vieille Case constituency, for the fifth term.

The vote was held amid protests calling for electoral reforms and accusations of corruption within the ruling party.

How It Works

The House of Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Dominica. It is composed of: 

• 21 Representatives directly elected from single-member constituencies for a five-year renewable term.
• Nine senators appointed by the President or elected by the Representatives.
• The Attorney-general, who serves as an ex officio member.
• The parliament gets a 32nd member if the Speaker is elected from outside the membership of the house.

The parliament elects the Prime Minister from among its members.

Election Result

Dominica has two dominant political parties – the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) and the United Workers Party (UWP). The DLP won18 of the 21 constituencies. The UWP lost three of the six seats it won in the last election, one of the constituencies, Roseau Central, was won by Melissa Skerrit, the wife of the Prime Minister.

Calls for Reforms

Weeks before the election, the Caribbean island nation was rocked by protests from opposition groups calling for electoral reform. The opposition has called for the implementation of the recommendations made by the Organisation of American States (OAS) during its Joint Special Mission with the Commonwealth of Nations and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to examine Dominica’s electoral processes. The OAS-CARICOM recommendations like the protesters’ demands were disregardedby the Skerrit government. 

The government has also been accused of corrupt practices. UWP Senator Ronald Charles demanded accountability of funds derived from the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme. Similarly, last month Al-Jazeera released a reportrevealing that politicians in the country sold diplomatic passports. Prime Minister Skerrit was implicated in the report.

Despite contrary claims by the opposition leader, Lennox Linton, the election was nonetheless deemed as a reflection of the will of people by the Commonwealth Observer Group.