By Staff Writer
ROSEAU, Dominica, Jul 2, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Thursday he has been advised that the issuance of voter identification cards is expected to begin by the end of this month as his administration remains fully committed to completing the implementation of the most comprehensive electoral reform programme in Dominica’s history.
“After years of consultation with political parties, civil society, regional and international experts and other stakeholders, Parliament unanimously enacted legislation to modernise our electoral system. We have now moved from legislation to implementation,” Skerrit told a news conference, adding that the issuance of the voter identification card will mark “another important milestone”.
He said that the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) has been actively encouraging its supporters to participate in the confirmation process because protecting democracy is a shared responsibility, and that he was encouraging every political party, civic organisation and community group to do the same.
In June 2024, the former president of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Dennis Byron, submitted a report on electoral reform to the Dominica government.
Sir Dennis had been the sole commissioner advancing the efforts towards electoral reform, a major issue here with the opposition parties, the United Workers Party (UWP) and the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), boycotting the last general election.
The boycott led to the DLP securing 19 of the 21 seats, with the remainder going to independent candidates. The opposition parties had been calling for electoral reform, including a clean voters’ list and identification cards.
The Dominica Parliament then passed landmark electoral reform legislation to modernise its voting process, approving key bills to roll out national voter identification cards and implement strict voter registration checks. Dominica is now executing the island-wide voter confirmation exercise to clean the electoral list.
Skerrit told the news conference that recently, questions have been raised suggesting that the voters’ list should closely match the estimated voting-age population. He said that this argument misunderstands the role of the Electoral Commission, whose “responsibility is to provide every eligible citizen with a lawful and accessible opportunity to register and confirm their registration. It cannot compel anyone to do so.
“In every democracy, some eligible citizens choose not to register immediately, some delay registration for years, and others living overseas may decide not to participate. Those are personal choices. There is no constitutional or legal requirement that the final register must equal, or even closely approximate, the estimated number of eligible voters.
“Similarly, suggestions that the Commission must achieve a particular level of registration before the electoral reform process can inspire public confidence are not supported by the law.”
Skerrit told reporters that the legislation establishes clear legal procedures for registration, confirmation, publication of the register, objections, and appeals.
“It does not establish numerical targets as a test of legitimacy. The integrity of the register should therefore be judged by whether those included are legally entitled to vote and not by whether every eligible citizen has exercised that right,” Skerrit said.
He told reporters that he knew of a gentleman who got registered to vote for the first time at the age of 56. saying “that was his democratic right and certainly not a failure of the Electoral Commission.
“The right to vote also includes the freedom not to register or vote, provided the opportunity exists. I therefore encourage every eligible Dominican who has not yet completed the confirmation process to do so without delay.
“These reforms were introduced to strengthen our democracy by ensuring that every eligible citizen is properly registered and able to exercise the constitutional right to vote,” Skerrit said.
He said about the upcoming by-election in the Roseau North constituency, the DLP will approach the event as it does with every election “with humility, respect for the democratic process and confidence in the record we have presented to the people over the past two decades”.
The party has nominated economist and businesswoman, Ashma McDougall, as its candidate to contest the by-election, following the resignation last month of Labour, Public Service Reform, Social Partnership, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Minister, Miriam Blanchard, due to health reasons.
The UWP has already named former legislator and parliamentary representative for the constituency Danny Lugay as its candidate.
Skerrit told reporters that the DLP has “consistently invested in developing young leaders because we believe the future of Dominica must be shaped by those who will inherit it.
“We also believe that meaningful development requires listening to communities, engaging citizens and ensuring that people have a genuine voice in shaping our country’s future,” he said, adding that he is encouraging voters in the Roseau North constituency “to engage thoughtfully in this democratic process, consider the issues carefully and participate fully. “Elections are about choosing the future, and I remain confident that the people will choose continued progress, stability and opportunity,” he added.
CMC/cj/ir/2016.