2005 Dominican general election
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General elections were held in
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
on 5 May 2005. The result was a victory for the ruling
Dominica Labour Party The Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica. History Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, the Dominica Labour Party is the oldest political party in Dominica. N ...
, which won 12 of the 21 seats in the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
. The opposition United Workers' Party unsuccessfully made legal challenges to several of the constituency results.


Background

In the previous
2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...
the ruling United Workers' Party won one fewer seats than the Dominica Labour Party, despite receiving more votes. As a result, the Dominica Labour Party with 10 seats was able to form a
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with the
Dominica Freedom Party The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) is a conservative political party in Dominica. It shares much of the same socially and economically conservative principles as the Conservative Party in the UK. The party has been led by Bernard Hurtault since 2 ...
, which had won two seats. In 2004,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Pierre Charles died and was succeeded by Minister of Education
Roosevelt Skerrit Roosevelt Skerrit (born 8 June 1972) is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman o ...
.


Campaign

On 7 April Skerrit announced that the elections would take place on 5 May. Altogether 47 candidates stood in the elections; 21 candidates from the United Workers' Party, 19 from the Dominica Labour Party, 3 from the Dominica Progressive Party, 2 from the
Dominica Freedom Party The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) is a conservative political party in Dominica. It shares much of the same socially and economically conservative principles as the Conservative Party in the UK. The party has been led by Bernard Hurtault since 2 ...
and 2 independents. Just under 66,000 voters were registered to vote in the election at 249
polling station A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building
s spread over the 21
constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
. Major elections issues included an
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
austerity economic plan for Dominica and the Dominica Labour Party government's decision to switch recognition from the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Taiwan) to the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. On the Monday before the election, there was an incident when
motorcade A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles. Etymology The term ''motorcade'' was coined by Lyle Abbot (in 1912 or 1913 when he was automobile editor of the ''Arizona Republican''), and is formed after ''cavalcade'', playing off of ...
s for the two main parties collided with each other. No major injuries resulted and rallies for each party were held afterwards. The police then refused either party permission to hold motorcades on the day before the election. The campaign was judged as being particularly long and divisive, with the election seen as very close and likely to come down to
voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
.


Opinion polls

A poll in February predicted that the United Workers' Party would win 12 seats, compared to 7 for the Dominica Labour Party and 2 for the Dominica Freedom Party. However another poll in March had the Dominica Labour Party winning 12 seats, the United Workers' Party 7 seats and the Dominica Freedom Party 2 seats.


Results

The Dominica Labour Party increased their number of seats from 10 to 12, obtaining a majority. The United Workers' Party lost one seat, one independent candidate was elected, whilst the
Dominica Freedom Party The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) is a conservative political party in Dominica. It shares much of the same socially and economically conservative principles as the Conservative Party in the UK. The party has been led by Bernard Hurtault since 2 ...
lost both its seats. It was the first election in 35 years where the Dominica Freedom Party—the governing party of
Eugenia Charles Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. The first female lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, fe ...
from 1980 to 1995—did not win any seats. Prime Minister Skerrit announced that the day after the election would be a national holiday and called for Dominica to unite behind the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
after the elections.


Aftermath

Following the elections, the United Workers' Party made legal challenges to the results of five constituencies,
Castle Bruce Castle Bruce is a village on the east coast of Dominica. It is the largest settlement in St. David Parish, with a population of 1,339.Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 2001''. Roseau, Dominica: Central Statistical Of ...
, Soufriere, Mahaut, St Joseph and
Carib Territory The Kalinago Territory, previously known as the Carib Reserve or Carib Territory, is a district in the Caribbean island-nation of Dominica. It was established for the indigenous Kalinago people who inhabited the region prior to European coloniz ...
alleging that there were problems with the counts and that the results were rigged by the government. Initial counts in the Castle Bruce constituency had the United Workers' Party candidate ahead but the final result saw the Dominica Labour Party win by one vote. Opposition supporters protested the results outside of the government headquarters in
Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...
. On the 28 October 2005 the legal challenges were dismissed by a High Court Justice, Hugh Rawlins. The appeals court also rejected the lawsuit in April 2006 and the United Workers' Party then dropped the challenges.


References


External links


2005 General Election results
Election Office
Election results
IFES

IPU
Dominica Legislative Election of 5 May 2005
Adam Carr {{Dominican elections Elections in Dominica
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
2005 in Dominica May 2005 events in North America