Dominica Parliament to discuss three key electoral reform bills on December 16

The government of Dominica led by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit will on Monday, December 16, table three key bills about electoral reform when the Parliament convenes.

The bills will be named as “Electoral Commission Bill 2024,” “House of Assembly Elections Bill 2024,” and the “Registration of Electoral Bill 2024.”

The legislation includes: A bill to ensure the effective running of the electoral commission; a Bill to outline the election process for representatives of the House of Assembly; and a Bill to bring new provisions for the registration of voters. 

Speaking at a year-end press conference where he reviewed the work carried out in 2024 and the vision for 2025, PM Skerrit said, “The Parliament will convene on Monday (December 16) to consider a number of important matters. We will present three electoral reform bills for first-reading only, namely, the Electoral Commission Bill 2024, House of Assembly (Elections) Bill 2024 and Registration of Electors Bill 2024."

“The content of this legislation has been reviewed by the relevant individuals and groups since Sir Dennis Byron submitted his report on electoral reforms on June 12, 2023. The Government of Dominica held a series of consultations with members of the public. I must say that these consultations have been unprecedented in our political history,” he added. 

Sir Byron is the former president of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice.

Skerrit, who will complete 21 years in office in January 2025, said besides members of the public, political parties, trade unions, business associations, professional and youth-based organizations, sports bodies, media, and observers from international organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), Commonwealth, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and also the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) were part of the consultation processes. 

The Labour leader said the public was also allowed to review the report and draft legislation on the Dominican government’s website and submit their written feedback. Copies of the Bills were also made available to all members of the Parliament on two separate occasions so that they could review them and raise questions if they had, before the office of the attorney general of that of the prime minister, Skerrit added. 

He said the draft legislation, which will be tabled in the House on Monday, was presented to the chief elections officer and the election commission for a review in mid-2024. They were supposed to submit their review in June but wanted some more time and they eventually came back with their comment in September. Skerrit said they took a very long time but that was understandable since they had to give their comments and observations after due consideration. 

He said the public, interest groups and parliamentarians will have another opportunity to familiarize themselves with the legislation. The PM added that proposed Bills are available online (dominica.gov.dm/notices).

“I highlight all of these to make the point that the proposed electoral reform legislation has undergone extensive consultations and reviews with all relevant groups in our society. I have consistently stated our commitment to present in these legislative measures to Parliament to ensure that our elections remain free and fair,” Skerrit said, adding that taking the electoral reform legislation to Parliament for first reading means avenues are open for changes before the Bills are tabled for second and third readings. 

The prime minister said his government, however, doesn’t want the Bills to remain in consultation for perpetuity and must go for parliamentary approval to empower the electoral commission to carry out reforms. 

“Unless you go to Parliament, the electoral commission can’t do anything as far as electoral reforms are concerned,” Skerrit said. 

“There are things in the bills I do not support. It is not about me or the Cabinet…at the end, we all must want Parliament to pass the legislation…so that we can put the electoral reform to rest,” said the PM, who also questioned the sincerity of the opposition in trying to have the legislation debated and passed. He said he could not understand what was the fuss over the legislation as a protest program was scheduled on Monday. 

The Electoral Reform Coalition of Dominica expressed its frustration saying that “almost two decades of demanding electoral reform”, the country’s government was planning to take the electoral reform bills to Parliament “without proper public notice and scrutiny”.