Electoral reform is akin to constitutional reform: PM Skerrit

Roseau, Dominica: The reading for the three bills of the electoral reform has commenced in the national assembly of Dominica. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit tabled the bills and delved into the journey of their formation, aiming to conduct free and fair elections. 

He talked about the period when the legislations were drafted and shed light on the challenges faced by Dominica due to natural calamities and other political tensions. He cited that despite all of that, the government managed to present these bills in parliament today and noted, "Electoral reform is akin to constitutional reform.” 

Electoral Reform is significant for constitutional reform: PM Skerrit

Speaking in parliament, PM Roosevelt Skerrit noted that the electoral reform is key to constitutional reform because of the fundamental right of the people to vote. He said that the people have fought and die to vote, but in Dominica, if people had to be landowners, if they want to vote, and if they did not have money, they could not vote, that’s contemporary history.

"We in the government, we should allow the national ID card, because it is a waste of money as the only use of the voter card is to cast vote, but national ID card provides a free movement within in the OECS, so there are greater reason to keep the ID card, so it is important," PM Skerrit noted. 

PM Skerrit announced that those people who resides overseas and want to register, confirm and remain on the voter’s list in Dominica, they have to travel to the country. If they travel to Dominica, then do not go for the confirmation process, their names will be removed from the list for the period given by the parliament once electoral reform bills come into effect. 

Journey of the Electoral Reform Bills

The journey of the electoral reform bills started in 2013 when the government drafted the legislation, consulted with the electoral commission as required by the constitution, and then bills were circulated into the public and made available to all political parties and other international groups. 

Moving further, Dominica was hit by Tropical Storm Erika in 2015, and by the first quarter of the 2016, the country purchased the equipment required to issue the ID cards for the purpose of voting, and then Cabinet with parliament provided all necessary resources to the electoral commission to effect electoral reforms. 

The resources included hand-held machines to allow for better access to the process for the citizens and voters in the country. After that, the government of Dominica came into parliament in 2017 to table those comprehensive bills to address the issue of the electoral reform. 

The journey was outlined by Prime Minister Skerrit in the parliament by stating, "The reforms in the bills were endorsed by the Commonwealth to resolve the issues of the ID cards, elections list and others. However, there were attempts to breach the parliament and then government removes the bills and again send it back for the consultation of the public.” 

He noted that the Attorey General wrote all political parties, interest groups in Dominica and asked them about the issues in the sections of the bills. “Let’s do not make general statements by saying that I read the bills, and I don’t agree to it, this is not the general and comprehensive way of discussion,” PM Skerrit asserted in a statement in the parliament. 

PM Skerrit’s statement on Sir Dennis Byron

PM Dr Roosevelt Skerrit talked about the intelligence of Sir Dennis Byron, a person who drafted these legislations and noted that the government identified the most prominent and eminent person for this. 

He said that Dennis Byron had served on UN Court in Africa, as the president of ECCJ, Chief Justice of OECS Supreme Court, so there is no body in the Caribbean who can parallel his intellect in terms of law and jurisdictions. 

“We brought him on, but if we had passed the report in 2017, then we would have the electoral reform before the elections in 2019, people would have ID cards to vote, and we would have the clear voter list,” PM Skerrit added. 

He further noted that the opposition parties attended the sessions of the consultation, and they were allowed to express their views, and technical board was set up for the public who share their concerns and ideas on the bills. 

After that, the government asked the electoral commission about the bill and they said they wanted to take more time, and the government gave them full time to ensure to draft comprehensive legislations in July 2024, as per the prime minister. 

"The electoral commission submitted their bills in September 2024, so they had the bills from May, June, July, August, September, so this is huge time, as you need time when you are serious about something. The same bills were also published on the website of the government of Dominica in May 2024 so that anyone from Dominica who want to access the legislation would have read it as it could have been downloaded from phone and other devices,” PM Skerrit said.