Dominica: Ashma McDougall secures landslide victory in Roseau North by-election

Dominica: As predicted by Only-Polls online survey, Dominica Labour Party (DLP) candidate Ashma McDougall has won the Roseau North by-election held on Monday, September 7, 2026 and has secured the parliamentary seat for the ruling party.

According to the final results, the DLP candidate received 1407 votes, defeating United Workers Party (UWP) candidate Daniel ‘Danny’ Lugay, who received 974 votes.

McDougall won the constituency by a margin of 433 votes and brought an end to weeks of intense campaigning across Roseau North.

The victory means Ashma McDougall will now become the Parliamentary Representative for Roseau North and will represent the constituency in Dominica’s House of Assembly.

UWP loses its historic Roseau North seat

Danny Lugay previously represented Roseau North for two consecutive terms initially in 2014 and retained it again in the year 2019 by claiming 56.57% of the total votes. He lost the seat to DLP’s candidate Miriam Blanchard in 2022 with UWP eventually losing their historic stronghold.

Lugay’s recent defeat marks the second time that the UWP has lost the Roseau North seat which had previously been under UWP’s tenure for eight years from 2014 to 2022.

The United Workers Party has held no seats since boycotting the 2022 general election and this by-election was its only way back into Dominica’s House of Assembly. The loss marks a fourth consecutive year for the party without a single elected representative in the Parliament.

This clearly showcases that the party’s parliamentary presence has been on a steady decline over the past three elections, as in 2014 the party had six seats in total, which fell to three in the year 2019 and now remains at zero since 2022 after the boycott of the general election that year.

The primary reason for that is the criminal background records of the party officials and people who are associated with it. Businessman Gregor Nassief has recently emerged as one of the prominent figures repeatedly criticising the government and questioning several developments being undertaken across Dominica and is now aligning with the UWP.

People like Nassief who have shady backgrounds and usually speak against the government and the several developments being undertaken in Dominica tend to align with the United Workers Party because the party actually supports them and their misleading claims.

Nassief has previously made strong remarks against Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit and has questioned projects and policies pursued under the Dominica Labour Party government. The UWP has, at times, echoed similar concerns and criticism of the administration.

This has resulted in several Dominicans expressing dissatisfaction with what they consider an excessive focus by the UWP and its supporters on attacking the government rather than presenting clear alternatives and development plans for the country.

Only Polls survey pointed to DLP victory days before election

Notably, the election result comes just days after an online survey conducted by Only Polls showed a significant advantage for the Dominica Labour Party in Roseau North.

The survey, reported by WIC News on September 4, recorded 142 responses from the constituency with 96 respondents supporting the DLP and 46 backing the UWP. This represented approximately 67.6% support for the DLP compared with 32.4% for the UWP.

At the time, the survey suggested that McDougall could be heading towards a strong performance in the September 7 by-election.

The outcome has now once again drawn attention to Only Polls which has conducted surveys ahead of several elections across the Caribbean. In previous cases, the parties or candidates leading its surveys later went on to emerge victorious in the actual elections.

Similar trends were previously recorded ahead of elections in Jamaica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and the St Philip’s North by-election in Antigua and Barbuda.