Dominica Labour Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Roosevelt Skerrit |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Ideology | Social democracy Labourism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | COPPPAL |
| House of Assembly | 19 / 21 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica.
Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, the Dominica Labour Party is the oldest political party in Dominica. [1] It first contested general elections in 1961, winning seven of the eleven seats, and party leader Edward Leblanc became Premier of Dominica. [2] In the next elections in 1966 it won all but one of the seats. The party split and former leader Leblanc won the 1970 elections under the banner of Leblanc Labour Party. [2] Leblanc retired in 1974, and he was succeeded by Patrick John. A fourth consecutive victory was achieved in the 1975 elections when it won 16 of the 21 seats. John was ousted as Prime Minister in summer 1979.
In 1980 the party led by John suffered a major defeat, seeing its vote share reduced from 50% to 17%, and losing all its seats as the Dominica Freedom Party won the elections. In 1983 Oliver Seraphin was elected party leader with Patrick John as his deputy. [2]
United Dominica Labour Party led by Michael Douglas merged back to Labour Party in 1985, and Douglas was elected leader with Seraphin as his deputy. [2] The party regained five seats in the 1985 elections, losing one in 1990 and gaining one in 1995.
In the 2000 elections, the party regained power for the first time since 1975, winning 10 of the 21 seats and forming a coalition with the DFP, after which Roosevelt "Rosie" Douglas became Prime Minister. However, on 1 October, 2000 Douglas died suddenly after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles. On 6 January, 2004, Charles, who had been suffering from heart problems since 2003, also died. After the death of Pierre Charles, Foreign Minister Osborne Riviere acted as Prime Minister, until Education Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was named political leader of the party and sworn in as Prime Minister.
Under the leadership of Roosevelt Skerrit, the party won 12 seats in the 2005 elections and remained in office. In the 2009 general elections the Dominica Labour Party scored a third consecutive victory winning 18 of the 21 seats, despite the opposition's claims of campaign improprieties. [3]
| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Edward Oliver LeBlanc | 7,848 | 47.5% | 7 / 11 |  7 | 1st | Majority government |
| 1966 | 11,735 | 65.0% | 10 / 11 | 3 |  1st | Supermajority government | |
| 1970 | 9,877 | 49.9% | 8 / 11 |  2 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 1975 | Patrick John | 10,523 | 49.3% | 16 / 21 | 8 | 1st | Supermajority government |
| 1980 | Patrick John [4] | 5,326 | 16.8% | 0 / 21 | 16 | 3rd | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1985 | Michael Douglas | 13,014 | 39.1% | 5 / 21 | 5 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1990 | 7,860 | 23.5% | 4 / 21 | 1 | 3rd | Opposition | |
| 1995 | Rosie Douglas | 11,064 | 29.8% | 5 / 21 | 1 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2000 | 15,362 | 42.9% | 10 / 21 | 5 | 1st | DLP–DFP coalition government | |
| 2005 | Roosevelt Skerrit | 19,741 | 52.07% | 12 / 21 | 2 | 1st | Majority government |
| 2009 | 22,262 | 61.34% | 18 / 21 | 6 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 2014 | 23,208 | 56.99% | 15 / 21 | 3 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 2019 | 23,643 | 59.01% | 18 / 21 | 3 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 2022 | 15,214 | 82.38% | 19 / 21 | 1 | 1st | Supermajority government |
The first written records in the history of Dominica began in November 1493, when Christopher Columbus spotted the island. Prior to European contact, Dominica was inhabited by the Arawak. Dominica was a French colony from 1715 until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, and then became a British colony from 1763 to 1978. It became an independent nation in 1978.
Roosevelt Bernard "Rosie" Douglas was a politician and human rights activist from Dominica. He served as Prime Minister of Dominica from February 2000 until his death in office eight months later.
Pierre Charles was a Dominican politician who served as Prime Minister of Dominica from 2000 to his death in 2004. At the time of his death, he was also serving as Member of Parliament for Grand Bay since 1985.
Francis Osborne Riviere was Foreign Minister of Dominica. He became the foreign minister in 2001, replacing the prime minister, Pierre Charles. He acted as Prime Minister, after Pierre Charles' s death. He had previously been trade minister.
Roosevelt Skerrit 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 of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and most recently as chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2010. Skerrit is currently the longest-serving prime minister of Dominica.
Patrick Roland John was the first Prime Minister of Dominica as well as its last Premier. He led Dominica to independence from the United Kingdom. He was leader of the Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union and mayor of Roseau before being elected to the legislature in 1970. He became Premier in 1974 following the resignation of Edward Oliver LeBlanc. After mass protest forced him to resign, John unsuccessfully attempted in 1981 to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Eugenia Charles with the backing of white supremacist groups. As a result, he was jailed for twelve years, of which he served five years.
Edward Oliver LeBlanc was a Dominican politician who served as the chief minister from January 1961 to 1 March 1967 and as the first premier from 1 March 1967 to 27 July 1974. Born in Vieille Case, a village in the north of the island, LeBlanc attended the local school and studied agriculture at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad. He worked in the civil service and became a member of the Dominica Trade Union. An early member of the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), he served as a representative in the country's Legislative Council representing the constituency of Portsmouth between 1957 and 1958, and as a representative of Dominica in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation upon its foundation in 1958. LeBlanc left the federation in 1960 to run for election to the national legislature.
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 2021.
The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2022 general election, the party is not represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, after boycotting the general election. The past Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly is Lennox Linton.
Charles Angelo Savarin, DAH is a politician from Dominica who served as President of Dominica from 2013 to 2023. He is a member of the Dominica Labour Party and served for a time as Minister for National Security, Immigration, Labour and the Public Service.
The following is a list of heads of government of the members states of CARICOM:
Oliver James "O. J." Seraphin is a former Dominican politician. He served as the Minister of communication and works and housing for the Labour Party government from 1975–1979 and acting Prime Minister of Dominica from 25 June 1979 until 21 July 1980.
General elections were held in Dominica on 5 May 2005. The result was a victory for the ruling Dominica Labour Party, which won 12 of the 21 seats in the House of Assembly. The opposition United Workers' Party unsuccessfully made legal challenges to several of the constituency results.
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. Dominica's closest neighbours are two constituent territories of the European Union, the overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Dominica comprises a land area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census.
Michael Douglas was a politician from Dominica. He served as Member of Parliament for the Portsmouth constituency since 1975 and as well as a cabinet minister for a number of years, including as Minister of Finance from 1979 to 1980 and also Deputy Prime Minister.
General elections were held in Dominica on 8 December 2014 to elect the 21 members of the House of Assembly. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced the election date on 5 November 2014 and Nomination Day was held on 19 November. Under Dominica's electoral system, the Prime Minister has the authority to call elections at any time and is only required to give a minimum of twenty-five days' notice.
This is a list of foreign ministers of Dominica.
General elections were held in Dominica on 6 December 2019. The elections were constitutionally due by March 2020, but had been widely expected to take place before the end of 2019. The result was a landslide victory for the ruling Dominica Labour Party, which won 18 of the 21 elected seats, gaining three seats. With the DLP winning a fifth consecutive election, DLP leader Roosevelt Skerrit remained Prime Minister.
Ronald Armour was a Dominican politician and cabinet minister from Dominica Labour Party.
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