Deep internal rifts have erupted within Dominica’s main opposition political bloc, the United Workers Party (UWP), as seven of its most veteran and high-profile members have publicly condemned a coordinated campaign of slander and intimidation targeting their faction. Dated May 31, 2026, the damning open letter carries the signatures of prominent long-time party members and former leaders: Edison James, Lennox Linton, Hector John, Danny Lugay, Francisca Joseph, Ezekiel Bazil, and Rosana Emmanuel.
In the scathing document, the signatories detail ongoing harassment from anonymous social media profiles and political proxies loyal to the UWP’s current party leadership. They have been repeatedly branded with defamatory labels including “troublemakers”, “underminers”, and “washed-up politicians”, according to the letter. Most alarmingly, the group says a recent public demand has been made to forcibly expel them from the party they helped build. They characterize this inflammatory rhetoric as “dangerous and reckless”, warning it directly erodes the foundational democratic principles that the UWP was established upon.
The senior party figures have forcefully pushed back against all accusations of internal sabotage. They reject claims that they are working against the UWP’s interests, backing competing political parties, or blocking the party’s candidate selection process. They further note that many of the signatories voluntarily stepped down from top executive party positions, a move made to eliminate any perception of factional disunity and to allow the current leadership full autonomy to build a leadership team aligned with its own vision.
The letter reaffirms the group’s unwavering commitment to the UWP’s core mission. “We remain fully committed to the success of the United Workers Party because we firmly believe it is the only credible and organized political force capable of providing the people of Dominica with an alternative government,” the statement reads.
The signatories issued a stark warning to party members: the greatest threat facing the UWP is not internal disagreement, but a leadership culture that frames all dissent as disloyalty. Successful political movements, they argue, grow through intentional coalition-building and embrace of diverse viewpoints, rather than aggressive exclusion of opposing voices. To prompt reflection among the party’s broader membership and supporter base, the group posed three critical questions: Is the UWP working to expand its public appeal, or is it shrinking inward through self-inflicted internal conflict? Is it growing its base of support, or driving loyal voters away? Is it strengthening its position ahead of upcoming political contests, or weakening its foundation from within?
Closing the open letter, the group issued a formal appeal for internal reconciliation and a collective return to the UWP’s founding values: open debate, inclusive consultation, and mutual respect across differing viewpoints. “The challenges facing Dominica are too serious, the stakes are too high and the hopes of too many citizens depend on the existence of a strong, united and credible alternative government,” the signatories wrote. They called on all UWP members to reject a political culture of “hatred, intimidation, division and politics built on exclusion and fear”, insisting that the only sustainable path forward for the party is to “add and multiply, not divide and subtract.” A full copy of the open letter is available for public download.