The Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) urged Dominicans – regardless of party affiliations – to march out to demand electoral reforms outside the Parliament building on Tuesday. Former CCM president, Loftus Durand, said it is high time Dominicans stood their ground to demand electoral reforms that would make the country a better place for everyone.
February 7, 2023, that is the first sitting of parliament. “We are calling the people of Dominica out, we are not calling party supporters, we are calling on Dominicans, those of you who believe in your country, those of you who believe in democracy, come out and be counted on that day. So whenever the next [general] election is called in Dominica, the Dominican population, by and large, should be much more satisfied…
Loftus Durand, Former CCM president
Durand said the CCM had been clamouring for electoral reforms since January 2018 and had devised various means to sensitize the public and galvanize the government into action over it. He said some of the initiatives implemented to achieve this aim included weekly radio programmes, public education campaigns, and public protests where needed to draw public attention to their demands.
Former Prime Minister Edison James and social activist Irving Andre among several others also lend their voices to the demand for electoral reform. These members of the opposition demand a purging of the electors’ list, implementation of voter IDs, and other related demands.
Meanwhile, PM Roosevelt Skerrit told parliamentarians and the general public that he met with eminent jurist, Sir Dennis Byron, on January 23 over the electoral reform issue. He said the meeting was very constructive and that between April and June, the government will go to Parliament to implement some of the recommendations put together by Byron.
I really have no difficulties with the recommendations. I have reminded him of the urgency of getting it out of the way. Ideally, the Government would like to go to parliament before the next session of parliament, that is, to say before June 30, 2023. All things considered, he believes we can go to parliament in April of this year to pass the necessary legislation.
Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica
This article is copyright © 2023 DOM767
