June 25, 2024 – Roseau, Dominica: The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) has made a decisive shift in its approach to the pursuit of electoral reform in Dominica. After careful consideration and thorough analysis, the DFP has concluded that engaging in protest actions to urge the current government to pass good electoral laws is not only futile but feeds into the government’s playbook. To further engage with this government on this issue is to keep validating this many years’ long deceptive campaign they are engaged in to reduce democracy – not expand it.
We note that the entire point of this process – including spending over three quarters of a million dollars simply to throw the major parts of the resulting report in the trash – was simply to strip away the 5-year absence restriction. The removal of this critical restriction never featured as something desired by the majority of the populace during Sir Dennis’ initial consultations, and only became a main character at the government’s consultations, through the government’s weaving and plotting. Without that provision, elections in Dominica come down to simply who has the most money to import voters. There is no further deep analysis needed. No compensating tidbits of ID cards and a few other peripheral niceties can disguise this central truth.
The Sir Dennis report also showed that Campaign finance regulation laws was desired by the majority of Dominicans. Yet, the concept of campaign finance regulation laws, as proposed by Sir Dennis, found itself completely misrepresented to the people by the government at the sham consultations. Now, it has been stripped away completely in the new bills.
The DFP therefore refuses to be party to this farce any longer. We have simply lost the last remnants of faith in the current administration’s promise to enact electoral reforms that bolster democracy in our nation. The DFP firmly believes that meaningful electoral reform on our island will come about only with a change in government. Therefore, we are redirecting all our efforts and resources toward thisgoal, and we urge all those who oppose this government to do so.
The DFP’s new approach involves an unwavering focus on galvanizing support, building coalitions, and preparing for the next election to bring about a government committed to genuine democratic reforms. Our campaign will concentrate on raising awareness among the populace about the importance of electoral reform and the urgent need for new leadership to achieve this objective. We will also focus on bringing hope to our fellow citizens that a new economy and a fair society is possible. Spending our time dancing in this regime’s electoral reform circus will only distract us from that existential task.
With this pivot, the DFP calls on all Dominicans who are passionate about the future of our democracy and the exciting prosperity ahead to join us in this crucial mission. Together, we can make things happen – not keep asking for them to be done.
