Dominica has 21 electoral constituencies but come Election Day, December 6, 2022, only 15 of those constituencies will be contested.
As a result, the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), having been the only party to nominate candidates in all 21 seats, even before a vote was cast, had successfully secured six seats at the end of nomination day, November 18, 2022.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was among those six who were nominated unopposed.
THE VINCENTIAN understands that five candidates have been nominated by Team Unity Dominica (TUD), with up to ten candidates being independents.
Given the Nomination lists, the December 6, 2022 general election marks for Dominica the general election with the highest number of independent candidates.
This reality arose when the two leading opposition parties – the United Workers Party (UWP) and the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) – along with the smaller Alternative Peoples’ Party (APP) announced that they will not be contesting the elections, due to the absence of the long-awaited electoral reform.
When Prime Minister Skerrit announced on November 6 that Dominicans would return to the polls on December 6, two years or so before it was constitutionally due, to elect a new Government to lead the country, he described the election as “a national reset,” and said to Dominicans that “we (DLP) are seeking to bring new energy so that we can face the challenges ahead.”
He cautioned that “at this time we need strong decisive leadership,” something he said he has “provided the country with for the last eighteen years and this is what I will continue to give to this country after the elections are held.”
In response, the Parliamentary Opposition- the UWP, in announcing that it will not contest the election, said that the Prime Minister’s announcement “must be condemned by all Dominicans as an affront to our democracy and an insult to our people,” adding, “Dominicans cannot be asked at this time to participate in another national election without meeting at least two basic election standards: a clean Voters List reflecting the persons who can legally vote; and National ID Cards available to all the legitimate voters.”
In Dominica’s last general elections, held on December 6, 2019, ahead of the constitutionally due date by March 2020, the DLP won a landslide victory taking 18 of the 21 seats, to the UWP’s 3. (Sources: DNOL.com, CNW.com)