Roseau, Dominica: Following the announcement of Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit that Dominica will go into polls on December 6, 2022, the opposition, United Workers Party, decided not to contest the snap general elections.
The opposition party also asked President Charles Savarin “to revoke the calling of election by the prime minister.” PM Dr Roosevelt Skerrit announced the date for the polls three years after he led the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) to a convincing 18-3 victory in the general election of 2019.
While explaining the reasons for not casting general elections, Nicholas George, general secretary of UWP, called it an outrage to all Dominicans and an affront to democracy. However, the reason does not coincide with the analysis brought out by various political specialists.
The call for the boycott of the general elections by the UWP has been given to protect their image rather than protect the rights of the common people of Dominica. The reasons such as insult to people are such lame excuses made by the party to hide their personal conflicts ongoing in the party.
It is evident that the party has been struggling to tackle their inner conflicts, which created an unstable scenario among the UWP. The members of the party are not showing appreciation to each other. They have not yet decided on the face of the United Workers Party, and as per the speculations, the members are fighting with each other for the position.
According to the sources, Dominicans have not shown any faith in the party because they are doubtful that the party is not even capable of solving their inner issues; then how could they even think of finding solutions to the problems of the common people?
On the other hand, Dominica Labour Party has a strong leader named Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, who always worked for the welfare of the country. As per the people, PM Skerrit never thinks of his position as he is always busy serving people.
While announcing the contestants for the general elections, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit also mentioned that their decision not to contest the elections has nothing to do with the incomplete report of the Sole Commissioner appointed to advise on a review of the electoral system in Dominica. Their decision not to contest is a consequence of their inability to rally together as one organization and support a single individual as a leader.
Further, the political reseachers stressed that the elections are always fought with some agenda, policy and ideas for the development of the country and state. But the United Workers Party is lacking in the field as they don’t have any agenda or policy on which basis they could fare the future of the country.
Dominica faced various ups and downs due to many reasons, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change- Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, but with the efforts of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit led government, it didn’t stand still and paved the path of development.
Under the administration of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, common people received roofs on their heads. The development of the nation is considered with three basic necessities, Food, Clothes and Home. Skerrit-led administrations fulfilled more than these three basic necessities. He delivered free homes to the people who lost theirs during the time of Hurricane Maria.
Various projects, such as the construction of a geothermal power plant, and climate-resilient infrastructure (roads, bridges, healthcare centre, schools, houses and many more), has been initiated by the Dominica Labour Party government.
Dominica emerged as one of the best examples in front of the world in tackling the global issue dubbed climate change. Where the various developed countries failed to manage climate change, the small island developing state came out with the best framework to mitigate the climate impacts.
The entire scenario shows that UWP has no agenda or framework to decide the future of the country. As per the analysts, the party has no idea about the developmental policies of the country. They don’t have anything to resolve.
PM Skerrit also stated, “If I was in a party that had no leader, no policy, no philosophy, no friends – local or foreign – and no active presence in the villages or constituencies of Dominica, I too would advise my party to avoid a sixth political beating at the polls, by sitting these elections out.”
Dominica has proliferated with advancement and new techniques and now grasping the attention across the globe for its accurate path to development.
