By Gregor Nassief
Dear Prime Minister,
It is evident and widely accepted that the Commission is not viewed as impartial and independent, and is in need of a reset. So how do we accomplish that reset?
Concerns have been raised that you do not have the constitutional authority to carry out such a reset. While that may be true, the Chairperson of the Commission and the Chief Elections Officer can both resign by giving notice to the President under section 119(3) of the Constitution, and new persons can then be appointed. So it is not for you to remove them. But as you have commented on, spoken on behalf of, and acted on behalf of the Commission, prompting their resignation seems very much in line with current practice. Remember that you recently instructed the Commission to reinstate the use of a birth certificate as a form of identification in certain circumstances. While many of us supported the outcome of that intervention, you must acknowledge that, procedurally, it was out of line. That brings us back to the core issue: you are dealing with a Commission that has not claimed its constitutional space or asserted its independence, and as such, you felt the need to act outside your constitutional authority and intervene. So, to now say that you cannot facilitate their resignations because of the limits of your constitutional authority is a contradiction.
As stated, I believe that Ian Michael Anthony should, as per the Commission’s unanimous yet unheeded recommendation in 2024, be reinstated as Chief Elections Officer, and that my good friend Duncan Stowe should offer to step down as Chairman. I have messaged you privately about possible candidates for the Chairmanship, whom I believe would be well received nationally as a step toward the crucial reassertion of the Commission’s independence. The change of Chairmanship is particularly important given that Sir Dennis Byron’s recommendations on the structural imbalance of the Commission have also been left unheeded.
I have said this many times, but I will again summarise why a reset is needed:
- The Commission was in breach of the Constitution when voter registration was suspended for over one year, and neither the Chairperson nor the Chief Elections Officer has called a press conference to acknowledge and apologise for this breach, or to explain how and why it was allowed to occur.
- The Commission would not publicly acknowledge the obvious: that during the one-year suspension of voter registration, town and village council elections could have been impacted because no new voters could register and participate, a fact that you also, incredulously, denied at a press conference.
- The Commission is further in breach of the intent and spirit of the law by failing to issue voter ID cards after persons have been approved following their applications for confirmation and registration. Indeed, eight months have passed since the confirmation process started, and not a single voter ID card has been issued. Again, neither the Chairperson nor the Chief Elections Officer has called a press conference to acknowledge and apologise for this breach, or to explain how and why it was allowed to occur.
- You have interfered with the Commission’s independent authority, spoken on its behalf, acted on its behalf, requested help for it that it did not ask for, instructed it to adjust regulations, and protected it by calling the suspension of voter registration “water below the bridge.” Neither you nor the Commission has acknowledged this extreme interference as a breach of your constitutional authority and a subversion of the Commission’s constitutional space and independence.
- You have stated that the confirmation process comes to an end on October 14, 2026, knowing that an independent Commission could, according to law, extend that date. Yet you have never apologised for further undermining the Commission’s constitutional authority.
Indeed, the deadline of October 14, 2026, is even more onerous because you, as well as the Commission, were fully aware that when the electoral bills were pushed into law on March 19, 2025, the Commission was anything but ready, resulting in this unprecedented chaos.
I must share that some of your supporters have asked me, “What has the Prime Minister done to you?” Others, like our mutual friend Floyd Capitolin, have called me, suggesting that “you need to decide if you are a businessman or a politician,” to which I replied, “And which are you, Floyd?” to which he replied, “It’s a fine line.” While you have suggested that I am up to mischief, most have, in fact, thanked me for speaking out.
Let me take this opportunity to clarify publicly what my intentions are:
First, an impartial and independent Commission to oversee Dominica’s electoral processes and elections, so that trust in future election results can be re-established.
Second, a major call by political parties and civil society, including the private sector, unions, academia, and religious bodies, for persons to confirm and register, such that a solid and clean voters’ list of 55,000-plus eligible voters can be established and accepted.
Third, strong candidates, whether from established parties or as independents, will be contesting the next election and debating the vision and the right path for Dominica’s development.
Fourth, an election result that, no matter what, is seen as free and fair, overseen by an impartial and independent Commission, and reflecting the freely expressed will of the Dominican people.
So, Prime Minister, as it stands now, the odds are in your favour to waltz back into office after the next election. The question is this: do you want to waltz back in with the same disillusionment and sentiment that the elections were less than free and fair and were overseen by a Commission that was not impartial and independent, knowing that you failed to act in this regard? Or do you want to waltz back in with the citizenry having newfound confidence in Dominica’s democracy and election process, knowing that you acted when the country needed you to? As the arbitrator of all things in Dominica, the reset is entirely in your hands.
I appeal to you to act.
Respectfully,
Gregor Nassief
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