Snap general elections were held in Dominica on 6 December 2022.[1] Boycotted by the opposition United Workers' Party (UWP) and Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), the ruling Dominica Labour Party led by Roosevelt Skerrit, who had been prime minister since 2004, retained its supermajority in the House of Assembly by winning 19 of the 21 elected seats. Turnout was low at only 32%, the first time in Dominican history that less than half of eligible voters participated in a general election.
Background
Originally scheduled to be held in 2024, on 6 November 2022 (three days after independence day),[2] Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called a snap election "to ensure the continued renewal" of his government. Nomination day would be 18 November, and the election itself on 6 December.[1] The ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) announced its candidates on 8 November.[3]
Opposition parties, including former ruling parties United Workers' Party (UWP) and Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), and civil society organisations published an open letter on 9 November condemning Skerrit's call for elections. External observers, including the OAS, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Caricom, and the Caribbean Court of Justice, had made recommendations for electoral reform in Dominica in order to assuage concerns of voter fraud, among other reasons. By 2022, Skerrit had implemented none.[4] In light of this situation, the UWP and the DFP decided to boycott the elections and call on PresidentCharles Savarin to reconvene the Assembly.[5][6] In a separate letter, the nonpartisan Nature Island Dominica Civil Liberties Foundation (NIDCLF) pointed out irregularities in past elections which occurred due to the lack of reforms.[7]
A three-month-old party which did not sign the open letter, Team Unity Dominica (TUD), announced its readiness to take on the DLP, and asked for support from other opposition parties.[8] TUD general secretary Alex Bruno also claimed to be in contact with potential defectors from the DLP.[6] Individual independent candidates have also announced plans to contest the election.[9][10]
Political scientist Peter Wickham pointed out that the call for elections occurred soon after the UWP's leader resigned, so that Skerrit would avoid competition from a new opposition leader.[11]
45 candidates were nominated, 19 of whom were independent candidates.[13] Ten of the incumbent DLP members were not nominated for a new term.[3]
In six constituencies the DLP nominee was the only candidate, winning by default. PM Skerrit and Health Minister Irving McIntyre were re-elected in this manner. The remaining four were new nominees.[14]
Conduct
The CommonwealthSecretariat, Organization of American States (OAS), Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (LACEE) sent election observers with the Commonwealth of Nations concluding that "election day and the pre-election atmosphere were largely peaceful and voters were free to exercise their franchise, the results of which are a collective will of those who voted. They also commended Electoral Office and its staff on their performance during the electoral process," noting that "while wholly consistent with the Constitution, the announcement of the snap elections on 6 November created certain challenges for some stakeholders."[15][16][17]
