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All 21 seats in the Dominica House of Assembly 11 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Dominica |
Executive |
Administrative divisions (parishes) |
Foreign relations |
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. [1]
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the West Indies. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The island is located near Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Its area is 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. The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of the Caribbean's few republics.
The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine Senators, and the Attorney General as an ex officio member. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-second member if chosen from outside the membership of the House.
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.
The ruling social democratic Dominica Labour Party lost three seats but retained a commanding majority, with 15 of the 21 seats in Parliament. The remaining six seats were won by the centre-right United Workers' Party, which has remained the sole opposition party in Parliament since the 2005 election. [2]
The Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica.
The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2009 general election, it is the only opposition party represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, holding three of the twenty-one seats. Its past Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly is Hector John.
The 21 elected members of the House of Assembly are elected in single-member constituencies. A further nine members are appointed by the Assembly after it convenes. [3]
Forty-four candidates contested the twenty-one constituencies, with the two dominant parties (Dominica Labour Party and United Workers' Party) running candidates in each of the constituencies as well as two independent candidates. [4]
The opposition gained three seats, winning all three constituencies in the capital Roseau, and three constituencies in a rural belt across the lower part of northern Dominica.
Roseau is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce. Built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi, it is the oldest and most important urban settlement on the island of Dominica.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dominica Labour Party | 23,208 | 56.99 | 15 | –3 |
United Workers' Party | 17,479 | 42.92 | 6 | +3 |
Independents | 37 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 471 | – | – | – |
Total | 41,195 | 100 | 21 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | 72,279 | 56.99 | – | – |
Source: Electoral Office |
The politics of Dominica takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Dominica is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of a federal parliamentary democracy. Saint Kitts and Nevis is an independent Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a governor-general. He acts on the advice of the prime minister, who is the majority party leader in the National Assembly, and who, with a cabinet, conducts affairs of state.
Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.
Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines takes place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the House of Assembly, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor-General exercises ceremonial functions, but reserve powers, under the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines constitution, can be used at the Governor General's discretion.
The politics of Barbados function within a framework of constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions; constitutional safeguards for nationals of Barbados include: freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth GCSK, KCMG, QC, MP, PC is a Mauritian politician who has served as both President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He is Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart.
Elections in Antigua and Barbuda take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy.
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) is a left-wing socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM advocates what it sees as a "fairer" society, without discrimination on the basis of social class, race, community, caste, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
Elections in the Bahamas take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Since independence voter turnout has been generally high in national elections, with a low of 87.9% in 1987 and a high of 98.5% in 1997. The current Prime Minister is the Hon Hubert Minnis.
Elections in Dominica have been taking place since 1832. Dominica elects on national level a legislature. The House of Assembly has 32 members, 21 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, 9 appointed senators, the Speaker and 1 ex officio member. a head of state - the president - is elected by the House of Assembly.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The system of the Thai legislative branch is modelled after the Westminster system. The House of Representatives has 500 members, all of which are democratically elected: 375 members were directly elected through single constituency elections, while the other 125 are elected through party-list proportional representation. The roles and powers of the House of Representatives were enshrined in the Constitution of 2017.
The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic. The Constitution of Mauritius provides for the parliament of Mauritius to consist of the President and the National Assembly. The parliament of Mauritius is modelled after the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, where members of parliament are voted in at regular general elections, on the basis of a first past the post system.
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.
Ronald Milner Green is a Dominican politician who has served as the head of the United Workers' Party (UWP). In that capacity, Green was also the Leader of the Opposition of Dominica from 2005 until 2009, when he lost his seat in the House of Assembly in the general election. Green is now serving in the Assembly as an appointed senator.
Hector John is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He is the current Leader of the Opposition, the youngest ever to hold that position. He was first elected as a Representative to the House of Assembly in 2009.
Dayton Baptiste is a Dominican politician in the Dominica Labour Party, and a former police officer in Antigua. He served briefly as an appointed senator in the Dominica House of Assembly in 2010, and has twice been an unsuccessful candidate for an elected seat.
A by-election was held on 9 July 2010 in Dominica, to fill two seats in the House of Assembly that were declared vacant. The contested seats were both won by significant margins by the incumbent candidates, who were members of the opposition United Workers' Party.
Norris Prevost is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He has served in the House of Assembly of Dominica since 1990.
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