Ahead of the hotly anticipated Roseau North parliamentary by-election, Dominica’s governing Dominica Labour Party (DLP) has made a striking announcement: its newly selected candidate Ashma McDougall was actively courted by the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) to run on their ticket before committing to the ruling party.
The upcoming by-election was triggered after former Roseau North representative Miriam Blanchard stepped down from her post, leaving an open parliamentary seat that will be contested by voters in the coming weeks. In an official public statement released by the DLP’s Roseau North campaign team on June 16, 2026, the party confirmed that both of Dominica’s major political parties identified McDougall as their top prospective candidate for the constituency.
According to the statement, UWP leadership reached out to McDougall first to invite her to stand as their nominee, framing her as a potential future leader who would bring significant strength to their political bloc. McDougall agreed to a meeting to hear the opposition’s proposal in full, but ultimately turned down the offer after a period of careful consideration, opting instead to run for the DLP.
McDougall’s decision, the DLP explained, was rooted in her conviction that she could best deliver for Roseau North’s residents as part of the incumbent governing administration, which holds the institutional capacity to turn policy pledges into tangible results. The ruling party highlighted that the opposition’s own outreach to McDougall reveals a telling detail about their internal priorities: even UWP leaders were searching for a new face and a new direction for the Roseau North seat, long before the by-election was called. The DLP drew a direct contrast between McDougall and the UWP’s eventual nominee, three-time candidate Danny Lugay, arguing that the opposition’s attempt to recruit McDougall proves they themselves acknowledge the need for fresh leadership in the constituency, rather than repeating the same political approach that has failed to win in past elections.
Both parties, the DLP emphasized, recognized the same strengths in McDougall: sharp intellect, proven leadership ability, strong credibility, unwavering discipline, a clear sense of purpose, contagious energy, and authentic ties to the communities that make up Roseau North, including Goodwill, St. Aroment, Pottersville, Gutter, Stock Farm, Yam Piece, Tarish Pit, Bellevue Rawle, Louisville and Morne Daniel. Where the parties differed was in McDougall’s own choice: she selected to align with progress over protest, development over division, and a governing party that has a track record of delivering critical public goods from affordable housing and upgraded infrastructure to expanded education and healthcare access.
For the DLP, the 2026 Roseau North by-election is far more than a simple race between two individual candidates. The party has framed the contest as a clear choice between two competing visions: a forward-looking future led by new, broadly admired leadership, and a stagnant past defined by the same outdated political approaches. With voting set to take place in the coming weeks, the key question hanging over the contest is whether Dominica voters will back McDougall, the candidate both major parties sought out, and deliver a victory for the DLP’s vision of continued progress for Roseau North.