Amidst reasonable requests for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to delay the first reading of the Electoral Reform Bills at parliament from the Electoral Reform Coalition, opposition political parties and civil society organizations, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has proceeded to have the first reading of the said Bills in parliament on Monday 16th December 2024.
In a show of defiance, arrogance, deception and blatant lies, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, under the protection of Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Isaac, who had earlier scolded parliamentarians for having the Electoral Reform Bills in their possession since November 14th, 2024, and not sharing the information with their constituents, gave the Prime Minister an opportunity to make a statement before the Bills were tabled in Parliament, a privilege that was not extended to the opposition to respond and an admission that the public was not allowed sufficient time to review the Bills before being tabled at parliament.
Roosevelt Skerrit has declared war on the people of Dominica with his approach towards the electoral reform process, giving a clear indication that the second and third reading of the Bills is just a formality, to again fool the Dominican people that they were allowed time to amend His legislation.
With all state machinery, including DBS Radio, at his disposal and with a parliamentary majority of 19 to 2, the approval of Roosevelt Skerrit’s legislation is a fait accompli, therefore he is already planning a big extravaganza at the next sitting of parliament when he invites the regional and international organizations such as the OECS, CARICOM, OAS and Commonwealth Secretariat to be present to legitimize his unacceptable Electoral Reform Bills. The ERC is reemphasizing that any electoral reform bill which does not include campaign finance reform and adequately addresses the cleansing of the voter’s registration list and voter identification cards should be considered unacceptable. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit must not take comfort in the number of people who showed up outside parliament in response to the call from the ERC to show their presence, there is widespread support for the ERC’s position on electoral reform.
Basic human decency, transparency, conflict of interest, accountability, respect for the citizenry and adherence to the rule of law, dictate that Roosevelt Skerrit should not be the one responsible for tabling the Bills to parliament. Roosevelt Skerrit has the most to benefit from the electoral process; therefore he is incapable of allowing genuine electoral reform bills to be presented to parliament.
The ERC therefore questions the role of the Attorney General who is responsible for the preparation and scrutiny of the electoral Bills and is supposed to be a public servant free from partisan affiliation.
The struggle for electoral reform will continue until such time that the people of Dominica are satisfied that the critical issues are addressed, and the approval of Roosevelt Skerrit’s electoral reform Bills will be of no consequence.
Roosevelt Skerrit has a choice to listen to the concerns of the citizens and allow public participation of the review of the electoral reform bills to arrive at a consensus or to continue with his arrogance and dictatorial attitude for which the demand for electoral reform continues.
The ERC is calling on the people of Dominica to be prepared for a sustained fight for Genuine Electoral Reform. We Shall Overcome.
Chairman/ Coordinator
Electoral Reform Coalition
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