Parliamentary representative for the Marigot Constituency, Anthony Charles, one of only two opposition candidates elected to the Dominica House of Assembly in the last general election in 2022, says he is ready to begin his term as Opposition Leader.
Dominica has been without an opposition leader since 2024.
Charles and Jesma Paul-Victor, who were also elected to parliament as independent opposition candidates in the Salisbury constituency, agreed to a power-sharing arrangement in which they would alternate as Leader of the Opposition.
Paul-Victor was the first to be appointed and sworn in as opposition leader on December 20, 2022. Her appointment, which was for eighteen months, ended on June 19, 2024, after which Charles would take over. However, this has not happened since Paul-Victor refused to lend support to Charles to take up that position.
Charles was allowed to respond to the 2024/25 National Budget and also the 2025/26 Budget in the absence of a Leader of the Opposition. Before responding, he took the time to reach out to the Salisbury MP to resolve the appointment of the leader of the Opposition.
“Mr.Speaker, we have a constitutional crisis, maybe I am part of the issue…last year I responded the the budget, I am again doing so this year, but we need to solve this issue,” he said.
“The member for Salisbury and I are the two elected opposition MPs, and we had an agreement. I am saying it is time that we fix this issue, the office of the President is just across, let us draft an agreement and get this matter fixed.”
He also called on the Salisbury MP to respond to his plea, since it is a constitutional crisis in the country.