General Secretary
Dominica Freedom Party
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Johnson Boston General Secretary
Dominica Freedom Party
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The DFP is looking with great interest for the engagement of all stakeholders for discussions to arrive at consensus for real amendment to the electoral Act that will modernize and improve the electoral process in Dominica. This certainly cannot include making it legal for political parties to finance the transportation of persons into Dominica to vote.
Prime Minister Skerrit misled the nation by saying in his address to the nation on Thursday, May 25, 2017 that the Opposition had not made recommendations for electoral reform in Dominica. This is viewed as a deliberate attempt by the Prime Minister to deceive the people of Dominica, the region and International community and this level of untruth can only create further distrust, confusion and disunity among the people of Dominica. The Opposition parties have been vocal in requesting electoral enforcement and reform to the election laws ever since irregularities surfaced in the 2005 general election in Dominica. In addition regional and international election observers made recommendations of a similar nature to those proposed by the Opposition political parties.
Since then there has been separate meetings held between the Opposition political parties and the electoral commission at which discussions took place and recommendations for electoral reform were made.
Following the December 18th 2009 general election, a joint white paper on electoral enforcement and reform was prepared by the Opposition political parties UWP and DFP and was sent to the electoral commission, thereafter presented to the media at a press conference where presentations were made by Mr. Ronald Green and Mrs. Judith Pestaina political leaders of the United Workers Party and the Dominica Freedom Party respectively at that time. Furthermore, a delegation from both political parties went to St. Kitts in 2009 where a meeting of the OECS heads of government was taking place to heighten attention on the need for electoral reform in Dominica.
The recommendations that were put forward by the Opposition political parties for electoral enforcement and reform includes the issuance of voter ID cards, sanitization of the voter’s list, equal access to the state-owned radio station – Dominica Broadcasting Service, and campaign finance reform.
The DFP believes that any amendment to the electoral Act should be for improving the existing legislation to arrive at a fairer electoral process in Dominica and to ensure that elections outcomes are not determined by those who have and will use money to secure votes through bribery. Elections outcomes in Dominica should never be determined by criminal elements such as drug dealers and money launderers, or by undemocratic means but must remained through the principle of one man one vote, conducted fairly so as to continue to enable ordinary citizens to participate freely and without hindrances in the electoral process.
The Dominica Freedom Party is disappointed in the Chairman of the electoral commission and Chief Elections Officer for not correcting the Prime Minister, and the Attorney General for the miss – Information that they have been giving the general public and view this as a failure on their part for allowing the work of the electoral commission and management of elections in Dominica to degenerate into confusion of partisan politics and to be influence and control by the ruling party.
The Dominica Freedom Party emphatically rejects the current proposed amendment to the electoral Act, which is viewed as an attempt to legalize bribery and treating. We call on the people of Dominica, irrespective of political affiliation to stand firmly against this attempt to undermine democracy in Dominica.
(1767) 276 – 0387
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