At a press conference held this Wednesday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica pushed back firmly against opposition claims that the island nation’s democracy has been weakened by the passage of 2025 electoral reform legislation. The opposition has alleged that parliamentary lawmakers knowingly approved the electoral bills despite awareness that the independent Constitutional body tasked with rolling out the new rules — the Electoral Commission — was not prepared to implement the new provisions. Skerrit labeled these allegations as baseless, false, and rooted purely in political opportunism, emphasizing that the entire controversy has not undermined the health of Dominica’s democratic system in any way.
Addressing lingering public questions about the state of the country’s electoral process following the March 2025 passage of the reform laws, Skerrit reiterated his long-held position that the Electoral Commission’s earlier decision to suspend continuous voter registration lacked legal grounding. He clarified that as prime minister, he exercises no direct control over the commission, which is granted full independent authority under the Dominica Constitution. Even with that being said, Skerrit stressed that the commission’s missteps have not opened the door to democratic erosion.
The prime minister pointed to the delayed rollout of the national voter ID card system as one clear example of an administrative error that critics have blown out of proportion. He argued this delay has had no tangible impact on the integrity of the electoral process or the state of the country’s democracy, contrary to opposition narratives.
Skerrit also addressed the gap in new and confirmed voter registrations: roughly 23,000 voters have been confirmed so far, compared to the more than 40,000 votes cast in the 2019 general election. He claimed this gap is not the result of institutional mismanagement or voter suppression, but rather stems from opposition leaders’ deliberate campaign over the first 10 months of the voter confirmation process. The opposition, he noted, repeatedly criticized the process and openly instructed their supporters to refuse to complete confirmation, a strategy that suppressed participation. At the same time, Skerrit acknowledged that the opposition holds a democratic right to share guidance with their base, just as supporters hold the right to accept or reject that guidance, noting that all of these actions fall squarely within the bounds of normal democratic practice.
The prime minister also pushed back on claims that a recent amendment to the electoral laws — passed on the seventh of last month — is proof the original bills were unready for implementation and a stain on Dominica’s democracy. He called this argument absurd, mischievous, and unfair, explaining that legislative amendments during the implementation phase are a routine occurrence in parliaments across the globe. Skerrit confirmed that elections could technically have proceeded without the amendment, but the Electoral Commission itself requested the legislative change to eliminate any ambiguity around the new rules and clarify legal language to avoid misinterpretation. The government simply honored that request by bringing the amendment to parliament.
Skerrit concluded by rejecting the opposition’s overarching narrative that the supposed electoral reform has instead devolved into confusion, administrative inefficiency, and widespread voter suppression. He called this claim a dangerously false story manufactured by opposition leaders to undermine public trust in the integrity of the upcoming electoral process. According to the prime minister, the response from residents of Roseau North and the broader Dominican public has already sent a clear message rejecting these unfounded claims.