Dominica: 7 candidates, including 3 women, to contest for Kalinago Chief Elections

Dominica: The Kalinago Territory in Dominica is all set to elect its new chief in a few weeks. Seven candidates registered themselves on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, which was the Nomination Day to contest the Kalinago Chief elections.

It is for the first time in the history of Kalinago elections that there are three females and four males who are contesting for the position.

According to the information, the registration for the new chief candidates was opened by the registering officer Kathleen Augusite at the Office of the Council. Each contestant present themselves to the Office while being accompanied by six witnesses.

The Office said that the registrations opened at 9 am and continued till 4 pm following which seven individuals were registered to be the next chief and replace the outgoing chief Lorenzo Sanford.

Meanwhile, the present chief declined to defend his seat during Polling Day which will be in three weeks which means that the territory will witness a new face this time.

A candidate named Jumadine Frederick has voiced some strong opinions about the number of candidates competing in the elections. He said that he finds that too many people went to compete for the position of chief and instead they should avail themselves to work with whoever is chief.

He further added that it reduces the significance and essence of the Office of Chief and added that he would have preferred just three candidates and it would have given the election more essence and significance in order to show that “We are able to unite ourselves in spite of our aspirations.”

It is being said that a number of Kalinago’s have stated similar emotions and thinking and are suggesting that a system should be put in place to choose the best candidate for the Office of Kalinago Chief.

Another candidate named Natasha Green is actively hosting public meetings and calling out all the supporters to come out while saying, “Remember this is a campaign for real development and leadership to improve our community.”

[caption id="attachment_72860" align="aligncenter" width="945"] Natasha Green with her family and friends on the polling day[/caption]

Notably, in the event of the election being contested, the poll will take place between 8 am and 5 pm on August 14, 2024 and the counting of votes will take place once the polling will be closed.