Dominicans to elect a new government on Tuesday December 6 

ROSEAU, Dominica, December 5, 2022- The people of Dominica will go to the polls on Tuesday December 6, to elect a new government.

The main opposition United Workers Party in Dominica said it had taken a decision not to contest the December 6 snap general election.

The party said that it remained convinced that the electoral reform “as demanded by the Dominican population is needed to facilitate free and fair elections” in Dominica. 

The united party said that the Caribbean Court of Justice, which is Dominica’s final court, had in a written decision noted “in its opinion…there remain areas of grave concerns about how the process of these elections (2019 General Elections) was conducted.  Future elections in Dominica ought not to proceed with these or similar taints…”

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who led the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) to victory in the 2019 general election, is expected to win another term in office.

Skerrit, 50, is one of the region's longest serving prime ministers, having been in power since 2004. In 2019, he led the party to a convincing 18-3 victory. 

"Following the changes we made in 2019, there shall next time around be other changes, to ensure the continued renewal of our Labour Party frontline, and maintain our continued relevance and the achievement of the visionary goals that we have set ourselves and our country.

He added: “This current Dominica Labour Party administration was elected in 2019 with a particular mandate. We outlined policies in pursuit of a Dynamic Dominica. We set ourselves goals, within a specific time frame, that cannot now be met because of the unforeseen global circumstances.

“The reality is that our country was paralysed for months. Things we wanted to do, we could not do. Some things we started, have not yet been finished. This is not a game of juvenile rounders. Running a government and a country is serious business. We have to operate in the realm of reality and practicality. We have, as a nation, to press the reset button,” Skerrit said.

On 6 November 2022 (three days after independence day), Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called a snap election "to ensure the continued renewal" of his government. Nomination day would be 18 November, and the election itself on 6 December.[1] The ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) announced its candidates on 8 November.[3]

At the invitation of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be fielding a CARICOM Election Observation Mission (CEOM) to monitor the December 6 General Elections.

The nine-member Mission is headed by Ms. Fern Narcis-Scope, Chief Election Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Elections and Boundaries Commission.

The CARICOM Election Observation Mission proposes to meet with leaders of political parties, the electoral officials and other stakeholders of Dominica and will monitor the voting process including the opening of the poll, the casting of votes, the closing of the poll and the counting of the ballots.

The Team arrived in Dominica over the period 2-3 December and is scheduled to depart on 8 December 2022.