Government awaits reports on Electoral Reform from Sir Dennis Byron

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has in his Independence Day address to the Nation spoken about the much talked about the controversial issue of “Electoral Reform.”

The issue has continued to be a “burning one” with the Skerrit-led administration appointing “a man Commissioner” to deal with the matter with a view to making recommendations to the Electoral Commission and the government.

“Before I end, I wish to take this opportunity to address the issue of electoral reform. We made a commitment to the Dominican people in 2019, that we would engage an independent party to look at the issues raised about electoral reform. We acted promptly in engaging Sir Dennis Byron, former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, former Chief Justice of the OECS Supreme Court, and Privy Councilor, to serve as sole Commissioner to investigate and advise on the issues While the Government engaged him, Sir Dennis does not report to the Government. The Electoral Commission has been the coordinator of the activities of Sir Dennis, and he has been working very closely with the Commission in carrying out his responsibilities,” Skerrit said.

“At the request of the Electoral Commission, Government made additional funding available to the Commission to enable the drafting of new Bills to address changes to strengthen our electoral laws. We expect that when the process has been completed and the draft Bills approved by the Electoral Commission, they will be shared with the Government, Opposition, and other stakeholders for consideration. While we recognize that our electoral laws have allowed for the proper conduct of our elections since our Independence, as with anything, there is always room for improvement. We, therefore, look forward to receiving and implementing the recommendations from this exercise.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, friends, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that all that we have achieved, have not been achieved alone. The Almighty God has guided us through every twist and turn, and we are truly grateful. We give God all the praise. We also want to express gratitude to our many friends and partners who have stood with Dominica and supported us, particularly in our darkest days,” he stated.