On Thursday 3rd August 2023 the Dominica Business Forum Inc. (DBF Inc.) convened a National Consultation on the Draft Electoral Legislation, prepared and submitted by Sir Dennis Byron, at the Truth and Grace Fellowship Global Church in Roseau at which presentations were made by Sir Dennis Byron, former Cabinet Secretary and Attorney at Law Mr. Julian Johnson (presented by Mrs. Neolise Knight-Didier, Attorney-at-Law), Canadian-based Justice Irving Andre, the leaders of the United Workers Party, Dominica Freedom Party, Team Unity Dominica, the Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches, the Builders and Contractors Association of Dominica (BCAD), and other contributions from the audience.
Invitations were extended to the Attorney General, the Chairman and members of the Electoral Commission, the Dominica Labour Party, and other private sector and civil society organizations none of which attended the event.
The purpose of the consultation was to review the draft legislation submitted by Sir Dennis Byron with the sole intention of addressing the sections of the legislation that are of concern to the population for which there have been numerous protest actions that have resulted in questionable election results, the boycotting of general elections to the extent that the existing parliament in the Commonwealth of Dominica comprises six parliamentarians who were elected unopposed on nomination day, including the position of the Prime Minister, and none of the established opposition parties are in the parliament.
In the absence of the Electoral Commission taking up its constitutional responsibility of educating and informing the citizenry on the review of the electoral legislation, the Prime Minister proceeded to engage Sir Dennis Byron to review the legislation, Sir Dennis Byron submitted his report to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister has announced the engagement of the former Minister and Parliamentary Representative of the Petite Savanne Constituency to facilitate the consultation process on the Byron report.
The Dominica Business Forum Inc. considers the review of the draft electoral legislation as a sacred duty of all citizens and any attempt to politicize the review process along political party lines will spell disaster for the nation. Prior to the 2019 general elections the Dominica Business Forum Inc was instrumental in bringing together private sector and civil society organizations to prepare a comprehensive report on electoral reform. Once again, the existing situation in the Commonwealth of Dominica requires such an intervention to achieve genuine changes to the electoral legislation.
Based on the aforementioned and recommendations made by the participants of the National Consultation on the Draft Electoral Legislation, the Dominica Business Forum Inc. was charged with the responsibility of extending invitations to various organizations and individuals to be part of a committee to review the draft legislation and the presentations made at the consultation with the aim of arriving at some type of consensus for an amended draft legislation to be presented to the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General for consideration.
To inform the population on the draft electoral legislation, the written presentations, and the link to the video of the national consultation are available on the Dominica Business Forum’s Facebook page. The DBF Inc. encourages the Private Sector and Civil Society organizations to take a more active role in the electoral process.
The Dominica Business Forum Inc. will strive to achieve acceptable and reasonable changes to our electoral legislation for peace and prosperity in the Commonwealth of Dominica for future generations.
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