Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who has been in power for 15 years, was re-elected on Friday, December 6, for a fourth consecutive term, with his Freedom Party (DLP) winning 18 of the 21 seats in the legislature. .
The elections were held in a tense atmosphere after several days of uncertainty. A series of demonstrations and road blockages have indeed shaken the small Caribbean island of 71,000 inhabitants located between Martinique and Guadeloupe, raising fears of a blaze of the situation.
The protesters called for electoral reform and the postponement of the elections, and denounced the presumed willingness of the Prime Minister to remain in power at all costs.
Friday night, at his proclamation of victory, Roosevelt Skerrit called the DLP militants not to go out on the streets in light of the events of recent days. "I declare Sunday, December 8th, a national day of peace, prayer, reconciliation and healing," did he declare. He received congratulations from Venezuelan Presidents Nicolas Maduro and Cuban Miguel Diaz-Canel.
On Monday, the prime minister banned any election rally. Demonstrations degenerated into clashes with the police, who used tear gas. Mr. Skerrit had then regretted "The intrusion of violence into the election campaign, in an unusual, useless and unproductive way". Brian Linton, the brother of opposition leader and election candidate Lennox Linton, accused the police of using live ammunition against protesters.
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Prosecution of sale of diplomatic passports
At the root of popular anger, the accusations of the opposition, led by Lennox Linton. According to him, the electoral lists are not updated and include dead people, as well as members of the diaspora who, according to the electoral law, should not have the right to vote because they left the country there is more five years.
The opposition also accuses the DLP of paying Dominican citizens residing in neighboring islands to vote, assuring him to stay at the helm of the country.
According to an investigation by Al-Jazeera channel broadcast on November 27, the Prime Minister would finance this policy including through the sale of diplomatic passports to wealthy entrepreneurs, a legal practice, or, worse yet, to criminals buying themselves a immunity. A technique, ensures the chain, already used successfully in previous legislative 2014, but denied by Mr. Skerrit.
After a joint observation mission in early August at the request of the Dominican government, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Commonwealth issued a series of recommendations. These included the updating of the voters lists to expel the deceased, the creation of secure voter registration cards and the careful verification of voters residing abroad. But these recommendations have remained a dead letter.
The Organization of American States brocarded
The OAS, on the other hand, is accused of interfering in the country's affairs by the government, which refused an election observation mission on December 6, assuring that the organization's aim was to interfere in the country. electoral process, as in Bolivia. The Prime Minister has, in this sense, received the support of other heads of state in the region, such as the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Goncalves, who said that the OAS and its secretary general, Luis Almagro, "Are the enemies of the democratic and progressive forces of the continent".
Same reaction on the side of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), which includes Dominica, and denounces "The application of the same form of violence and death used in Bolivia, this time against the Commonwealth of Dominica (the full name of the island) whose goal and goal seems to be to force an unconstitutional change in Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's government. "
The latter accused the opposition leader of using foreign actors to seize power. "(Lennox Linton) asks for help from the Organization of American States. He wants a change of government without facing elections ", he denounced, without giving further details. "The inhabitants of Dominica will decide December 6 which will direct them. These elections will be free and fair, despite their lies ", he added.
Beijing's investments
A petition, signed by 4,700 people, has circulated since the end of October to request the postponement of the election, so that the lists are updated. The High Court of Roseau declared itself incompetent, Tuesday December 3, to postpone the election, as it had asked a group of seven citizens of Dominica.
During his campaign, Roosevelt Skerrit highlighted his good economic performance after the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, which destroyed 70% of the island and left more than 60 dead. The International Monetary Fund expects 9.4% growth in 2019. Schools have reopened, tourists have returned, a new hospital funded by China, the Friendship Hospital Dominica-China, opened in September in Roseau. The prime minister also announced that Beijing would participate in the construction of a new international airport.
Lennox Linton, meanwhile, promised to increase pensions and the minimum wage, proposes to limit the number of consecutive terms to two and has focused his campaign on the fight against corruption. Yet Al-Jazeera's investigation showed his own lawyer negotiating an ambassadorial position in exchange for equipment and campaign financing. Charges strongly denied by Mr. Linton.
