The Arawaks were guided to Dominica, and other islands of the Caribbean, by the South Equatorial Current from the waters of the Orinoco River. These descendants of the early Taínos were overthrown by the Kalinago tribe of the Caribs.
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.
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.
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 Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica.
Charles Angelo Savarin is a politician from Dominica who has been President of Dominica since 2013. 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 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.
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.
The Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica. The current Leader of the Opposition is Hector John of the United Workers' Party, sworn in 19 July 2010; John is the youngest to hold the position.
General elections were held in Dominica on 31 January 2000 and saw the Dominica Labour Party led by Rosie Douglas take power defeating the previous government of the United Workers' Party led by Edison James, despite the UWP receiving more votes. The DLP won 10 seats, the UWP 9 seats and the Dominica Freedom Party took 2 seats. Voter turnout was 59.25%. The Dominica Labour Party formed a government in coalition with the Dominica Freedom Party. Voter turnout was 60.2%, the lowest since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1951.
The People's Democratic Movement is a minor political party in Dominica. The party was founded in 2007 and is led by Williams Riviere, a former executive member of the Dominica Labour Party. In the 2009 elections it put forward three candidates. However, they received only 179 votes (0.49%) and failed to win a seat.
General elections were held in Dominica on 18 December 2009, to elect the 21 Representatives of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Dominica Labour Party increased its majority to 18 of 21 seats, winning a third term.
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.
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.
The Dominica United People's Party was a political party in Dominica. It first contested elections in 1961, when it finished second behind the Dominica Labour Party and won four of the eleven seats with 25.6% of the vote. In the 1966 elections it increased its share of the vote to 32.2%, but won only a single seat. It did not contest the next elections in 1970 then the Dominica Freedom Party became the main opposition party.
The Dominica Democratic Labour Party was a political party in Dominica created by a split of the Dominica Labour Party in 1979. It contested the 1980 general elections, finishing second behind the Dominica Freedom Party with 19.7% of the vote and two of the 21 seats. However, it did not contest any subsequent elections.
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.
