ELECTORAL REFORM GROUP

Roseau, Dominica
Tel: 767-245-1294 ; Email: dmamay2010@yahoo.com

Press Release
Political Parties Invited to Discuss Voter Identification and
Cleansing of Electors List
May 24, 2019

Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica: The Electoral Reform Group, which is represented by the Dominica
Christian Council, the Dominica Evangelical Association, the Dominica Business Forum In. (DBF Inc.), the Dominica
Bar Association, the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) and the Waterfront and Allied Workers Union
(WAWU), will continue its public education exercise on electoral reform, by convening a public discussion at 7:00
P.M. on Tuesday 27th May, 2019, at the conference room of the Dominica Public Service Union.
Invitations have been extended to the leaders of the Dominica Labour Party, the United Workers Party and the
Dominica Freedom Party to be part of the public discussion, that will be moderated by Father Nigel Karam, the
representative of the Dominica Christian Council.
The topic for the public discussion is: "Electoral Reform - Facilitating the verification of identity of
persons on the Voter’s Registration Lists to enhance the process of issuing Voter ID Cards as an
administrative tool in Sanitizing Voters Registration List.”
The activity was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 21st, 2019, but was postponed due to
the Panel Discussion organized by the Electoral Commission on May 22nd.
The Electoral Reform Group, therefore, extends an invitation to the general public to participate in the public
discussion and to interact with the leaders of the political parties who are vying to lead the Commonwealth of
Dominica.
The partisan divide of the electoral reform issue was very visible at the recent event of the Electoral Commission
and requires the intervention of entities such as our Electoral Reform Group, now more than ever before, to
safeguard our democracy.
The Electoral Reform Group initiated the consultative process on electoral reform on January 31st, 2019, and has
held consultations with the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, the Chief Elections Officer, His Excellency the
President of Dominica, representatives of the Dominica Labour Party, the United Workers Party, the Dominica
Freedom Party, private sector and civil society and on May 2nd, 2019, convened its first public discussion on the
matter.
The public discussion on Tuesday May 28th, 2019, is another attempt to bring an amicable solution to the
electoral reform impasse, which, from all indications have the potential of disintegrating into a national crisis
with unfortunate consequences.

The Electoral Reform Group is appealing to all stakeholders, particularly the political parties and the Electoral
Commission, to allow good reason to prevail for the prosperity of the Dominican people, to champion respect for
the people’s right to determine the destiny of the nation by engendering fairness and transparency in the process
which facilitates and enables their right to vote and the peaceful development of the Commonwealth of
Dominica.
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For and on the behalf of Electoral Reform Group