In a formal press conference hosted Wednesday at Dominica’s iconic Fort Young Hotel, opposition political grouping Team Unity Dominica (TUD) announced a major leadership shift: US Virgin Islands-based Petra Carbon-George will take the reins of the organization, replacing Carlos Charles, who had led the party since assuming the role in November 2022.
Carbon-George, a native of Dominica’s Capuchin community, first relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) roughly eight years ago to support her daughter through university studies. What began as a temporary stay to see her daughter complete her education turned into long-term residency, but she has maintained deep professional and personal ties to her home country. During the conference, she outlined her growing cross-border agricultural trade business, which ships Dominican produce to USVI supermarkets once a month. Carbon-George reported that her venture generated more than $300,000 in trade volume last year alone, and she is actively working to expand operations. To meet growing demand, she has opened new market channels for local Dominican farmers, and is currently developing a new export route for dasheen to Miami, urging local producers to scale up plantings of the crop to match incoming demand.
Addressing questions from attendees about why a resident overseas would seek national political leadership in Dominica, Carbon-George emphasized her enduring commitment to the Dominican people and the nation’s prosperity. “Yes, I live in the Virgin Islands, and people may say, ‘you live overseas; what are you coming here and do?’” she told reporters. “Well, I love you, and I want to ensure you survive…”
Alongside the leadership announcement, TUD General Secretary Alex Bruno laid out the party’s strategic electoral plan for upcoming contests, confirming that the party will strategically step aside in multiple constituencies to enable unified opposition against the incumbent ruling party. Bruno announced he would not run for the upcoming Roseau North by-election, and added that TUD would also not contest the Goodwill by-election. The party’s goal, Bruno explained, is to enable one-on-one contests between the incumbent party and a single opposition candidate in every constituency, a strategy designed to maximize the opposition’s electoral chances.
Bruno confirmed that TUD also plans to cede the Marigot and Salisbury constituencies to allied opposition partners, saying that the party has made a deliberate choice to act collaboratively rather than contest every seat. “Because this is a very fruitful hunting ground for one of our sister partners in the business,” Bruno asserted. “Not that we can’t, but we just felt sometimes you have to be gracious, so Marigot and Salisbury will not be contested by Team Unity Dominica. All other constituencies are up for grabs.”
Bruno added that the party is still in the process of finalizing its full slate of candidates across the remaining constituencies, and remains open to ongoing negotiations with other opposition groups to adjust candidate alignments in service of broader collaborative goals. The conference also confirmed the party’s current announced candidates: Sherian Austrie will stand for the Castle Bruce Constituency, outgoing leader Carlos Charles will contest the Mahaut seat, and Christine Dupuis-Dubique will run in Paix Bouche.