As Dominica gears up for its upcoming by-election, the island nation’s top electoral official is sounding the alarm over circulating false claims surrounding the critical voter confirmation process, urging residents to only trust official updates from the Electoral Office.
Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph’s public warning follows a recent official statement from the Electoral Office, released to address growing public concerns about the voter confirmation procedure. In that initial release, the body clarified a common misconception circulating in public discourse: no voter can complete their confirmation simply by submitting paperwork remotely. Instead, every eligible voter must appear in person at a designated confirmation center, accompanied by a witness to complete the process.
The official statement also outlined the full, mandatory steps required for confirmation: identity verification, formal document checks, the capture of an updated voter photograph, and the collection of an electronic signature. Only after all these steps are completed successfully will a voter’s information be added to the national central voter database.
Speaking in a follow-up statement released this week, Joseph emphasized that members of the public should exercise extreme caution when encountering unvetted claims about the electoral process online or through unofficial channels.
“We are aware that as we approach the by-election, a significant amount of fake news will circulate,” Joseph noted. “That is why the Electoral Office maintains a dedicated public website where we publish all official, up-to-date information for the public, and we operate with full transparency. We do our utmost to answer every question the public raises, and we remain open, impartial and ready to address any queries residents may have.”
Joseph explicitly encouraged voters to treat the Electoral Office as their only primary source of election-related information, rather than turning to unconfirmed social media posts or third-party reports that have not been vetted by electoral authorities.
“We want people to rely on authentic information released directly by the Electoral Office, not false news, to guide them,” she explained. “Misinformation of this kind is designed to sow doubt among voters and dissuade people from visiting confirmation centers to exercise their electoral rights.”
The chief electoral officer also issued a direct appeal to any voter with questions or concerns about the confirmation process to reach out to the Electoral Office directly for official clarification, rather than trusting unofficial accounts.
Joseph added, “So please, we are asking people to contact our office directly if you have any query or question at all.”
Going into the by-election, the Electoral Office has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to providing accurate, accessible information to all voters, and ensuring the entire voter confirmation process is carried out in a secure, transparent, and fully accountable manner that upholds the integrity of Dominica’s electoral process.