Roseau Central constituency turns a suspense thriller

Located in the heart of the city, Roseau Central seat has been on the boil every now and then. But action the parliamentary constituency is witnessing now is extraordinary with lights, cameras and focus of the people on two contestants – one an ordinary politician and another assigned the role in the great Dominican political flick.

A seat, which United Workers Party (UWP) considered to be within its reach as in past 40 years the DLP never won this seat, no more remained a piece of cake with Dominica Labour Party turning the terrain tough by fielding wife of Prime Minister, Melissa Poponne-Skerrit in the fray.

The contest has now become no less than a suspense thriller with even the political observers hesitant to make any guesses. No doubt, the electorates of Roseau Central constituency were turning out in huge numbers to see their first lady among themselves, and many of these would translate into votes for the DLP is a concern for other political parties.

It is to be mentioned that in 2014 UWP candidate Joseph Isaac triumphed the Roseau Central seat, but the irony is that the candidate took a fold towards DLP and joined them and currently he is working as a minister in the DLP government, he will be contesting from Roseau North. 2014 winner, Joseph's presence in DLP will also boost the performance in the particular constituency as many people still believe in his leadership.

Melissa Poponne-Skerrit is a daughter of businessman Valentine Poponne and got married to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit in 2013, they have two children and Melissa also runs her charitable organisation ‘Melissa Skerrit Foundation’. According to a local newspaper, Melissa has been involved in the organisation of Carnival costume bands, mentoring of young people and managing a back to school programme.

A few years earlier, going for a parliamentary representative was not an option for Melissa. She was a behind the scenes wife of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s transforming government that oversaw Dominica’s progressive programs, which are the envy of many Caribbean nations. But after Maria hurricane, Mrs Skerrit jumped into the politics with an extraordinary vision to rope up suffering people. “The smell of death and look of desperation in faces shook me as a human being, people have always been there for me and my family, and this is the time to give it back.”, she asserted.

According to her, the goal is to make Roseau a modern, commercial and economic centre serving not only residents of Dominica, but taking full advantage of persons travelling to Dominica from Martinique and Guadeloupe. She aims to improve comprehensive living conditions of the Roseau people.

Roseau Central is expected to be a face-off between Melissa Skerrit’s appeal coupled with DLP wave and Glenroy Cuffy’s sports background and UWP’s opposition during the DLP government. Constituents which are awestruck with the presence of Mrs Skerrit – a persona Cuffy too struggling to match with it.

The main question is whether the DLP will manage to sweep the Roseau Central off its feet with the Skerrit family power.