In their quest to stay in power forever, on September 18 2018, the eve of the 1-year anniversary of the passage of Hurricane Maria, Dominica Labor Party Administration is prepared to use its majority in the Parliament to land a devastating blow to Democracy in Dominica. The people on this Caribbean island may see their voting rights rendered null and void by this unconscionable and despicable act. On that day, the Labor Administration is proposing to Change the Electors Act to make it legal for Dominica's Electoral Commissions to designate any place anywhere in the world it deems fit, to become a Voters Registration Office. That means anyone who holds a Dominican passport would be able to register to vote in Dominica. This also means that the Democratic right of the people in Dominica to legitimately choose a government would disappear because the balance of power could be wielded by those who have bought Dominican passports. Many of these individuals have never set foot on the island but have interest in controlling territories in the Americas. Soon, the Administration in Dominica could be controlled from as far away as Russia, Iran, or Dubai. See Section 31(1) of Proposed Amendments (here)
Just imagine living in a country where your vote does not matter because the Ruling Party is able to control its own majority. Instead of the people choosing who governs, the government would be choosing who they govern! Would that country still be considered a Democracy ? No! At this time, you may be asking why this Administration is trying to execute such an egregious and inhumane assault on the voting rights of the people of Dominica? Well, the Administration is fearful of losing the next election. Instead of going out to the people to make the case as to why they should remain in office, they have decided to take the easy way out and just manufacture their own majority. Who cares about the people living in Dominica when there are thousands of 'Dominicans' living outside Dominica who would be quite willing to be bribed to keep a corrupt Administration in place. Some of these Dominicans have never been to the island. All this crooked Administration has to do is to make the process easier for those voters and that's what they are planning to do; by changing the Electors Act to make that happen.
This Labor Administration has a history of interfering with elections. Dominica has not had a revised voters list for 15 years or for the last two Election cycles. Accordingly, the current Administration has been able to bribe Dominicans living abroad, with airplane tickets, to return to Dominica to vote ensuring that they are kept in power. Fortunately, Dominicans have said - no more!!. They want an updated voters list for the next election. As a result, we see this Administration trying its utmost to find a way in which it can still have outside voters come in to vote to keep them in power. However, this time they are taking it to the next level. They want Dominican Voter Registries all over the world so all and sundry can vote to keep them in power and, thereby, removing any Opposition. In fact, recently the Prime Minister stated in a public meeting that "Dominica does not need an Opposition" party
So, it is obvious that removing all Opposition is the ultimate goal of this Administration and its nefarious co-conspirators. They do not care about the Democratic rights of the people. If they did then, they would have held meetings and consultation on such an important measure which has the potential of stripping rights. Unfortunately, that type of behavior is customary for the Labor Administration. One would think that, with a change that potentially make the votes of those living on the island useless, there would be some type of Public education. Keeping the public in the dark is this Administration's modus operandi. They have a long history of abusing their authority. Many changes to laws were just railroaded over the people with absolutely no civil society input. And, the same tactics is being employed here but with potentially devastating consequences for Democracy on this island.
The administration is justifying this move by saying that with a potential cleanup of the voters list, they need to confirm voters who live abroad. Why? They fail to realize that a government gets its legitimacy from the people it governs, not from the ones they do not. The fact is, there are ways in which Dominicans living overseas who are legitimately able to vote can be confirmed without changing the Electors Act or establishing Voter Registration Offices all over the world. For example, It could be as simple as filling out an Affidavit online and picking up their voter ID in Dominica a couple days before Election Day. Why put the country through this expense to accommodate citizens who chose to live abroad? If they really want to vote they will find a way to get to Dominica. However, one knows the real reason for the proposed changes: to interfere with the registration of voters; something that is contrary to the Elections Act.
This blatant abuse of Power by the Labor Administration must not be allowed to go forward. You cannot have a Democracy where a population has a government forced upon it. Free and fair elections protect Democracy. Therefore, it is left to Civil Society to make it known to all the International Organization who have entrusted millions of their citizen's monies to this Administration to re-evaluate the type reckless and immoral administration with which they are dealing. An Administration which has zero respect for the rule of law, the Constitution and Human Rights. In addition, the governments of the US, Britain and France must be made to realize that if these changes become a reality, Dominicans may become Asylum seekers and their respective territories in the Caribbean will bear the brunt of this outward migration.
Proposed Electors Act Amendments
