Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has confirmed that prominent Caribbean jurist Sir Denis Byron is to embark on a project for Electoral Reform for Dominica.
After the 2019 general elections, Skerrit stated that Sir Byron was chosen to perform the service of the sole commissioner for Electoral Reform in Dominica.
“We have developed draft terms of reference for the commissioner for Sir Denis Byron,” he said. He continued, “We are looking forward to his engagement and to bring a very tight schedule to this.”
According to Skerrit, it is in the interest of the government to go to Parliament the soonest to start the process well in advance of the constitutional date for the next elections, “and we can put this behind us and we can focus on other important agenda items.”
This week, Skerrit announced that notwithstanding the COVID period his government felt they had to advance the cause. “He has said that he will be in Dominica in September and do the necessary work and have the report ready by December 2020 so we will be able to go to Parliament and put this matter up,” Skerrit stated.
Sir Byron is a former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). He also served as President of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and is former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and former Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.