The Dominican electorate is being called upon to support an Electoral Reform Survey, which commences in Dominica on Monday, 26th April, 2021.
The call has come from The Rt. Hon. Sir Dennis Byron, KT, PC who was appointed by the government of Commonwealth of Dominica to conduct a review of the electoral process, systems and legislation on the island.
As part of the review and consultation process, Sir Dennis Byron invites all nationals of the Commonwealth of Dominica, 18 years and above to participate in an electronic elections survey with the goal to obtain extensive feedback from the general populace in the Commonwealth of Dominica, particularly on matters related to the electoral process, systems and legislation. The survey will be accessible online via the Electoral Office’s website http://electoraloffice.gov.dm/ for a period of three weeks, commencing Monday, 26th April, 2021 and ending on Friday, 14th May, 2021.
According to Sir Dennis, “The public is assured that the review of the electoral process, systems and legislation in the Commonwealth of Dominica is completely independent of the Government of Dominica, any political party, political appointee, or any other entity or individual. Additionally, the survey will be completely anonymous, and the
back end of the survey will only be accessed by Sir Dennis Byron and his team. The research is informed by all ethical protocols, with particular adherence to issues of anonymity and confidentiality. There are no identifiers or names to the questionnaires. The public is therefore, encouraged to participate in the elections survey, as it will provide critical information for the review exercise being undertaken.”
Sir. Dennis Byron is an expert Jurist with over 50 years of judicial and related experience. He is currently serving as the Chairperson of the United Nations Internal Judicial Council. From 2011 – 2018, Sir Dennis Byron served as the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Judge and President of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal from 2004 to 2011, he also served as the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (1999-2004) and has been President and then Chairman of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute in Halifax, Canada since 2000. With over 50 years of experience in the judicial system, the ability to critically access situations with an unbiased and transparent lens has become somewhat innate to Sir Dennis Byron. Additionally, his wealth of experience in adjudication have bequeathed an unparalleled jurisprudential legacy.
TOTO,page 39,sec 32(1)(a).,A person shall NOT be qualified to be ELECTED or APPOINTED as a Representative or Senator if he-is by virtue of his OWN act under any acknowledgement of allegiance,obedience or adherencr to a foreign power or state.Skerrit is RIGHT.No law no constitution can prevent him from being nominated.The constitution is clear.You and UWP say no one is above the law,yet you want him to produce a PASSPORT he says he does not have.UWP says Skerrit have a passport,they have to PROVE it.That is the law in Dominica,not the law of UWP.
@Lin clown, all Skerritt had to do was to bring the passport to the court so we could see for ourselves. If you are accused of pocketing an item and you claim that you don’t have it, it helps to empty your pockets to prove that you don’t have it. The judge in the matter knew better than that. When the police suspect that someone has illegal merchandise in their possession, the “court” will issue a warrant to go and search the premises for the loot. She could have done the same in the case with regards to the seriousness and the constitutional implications of the matter. The might Sparrow made a calypso about those legal people who make a mockery of the law and have the law protect them at the same time.
Thousands of electors begged, demonstrated, agitated, advocated for electoral reforms before the last election to no avail. Local civil groups, regional and international organizations laid out a blueprint for electoral reforms for a level playing field for all contesting political parties and this too was roundly rejected by the nakedly corrupt misleader and his pliable disciples.
Now, after cheating and treating their way back into power, they have paid a piper $450 000 to compose and play an electoral tune that suits them.
God doesn’t like ugliness, time is longer than twine, and Skerrit’s stranglehold on the necks of Dominicans shall loosen.
Dominicans you saw how he folded and acquiesced to just a small percentage of bus drivers. Just imagine if the citizens wake up and protest en masse.
Assuming that readers of DNO represent a fair cross section of the general populace in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Sir Dennis Byron would be well advised to read the feed back to this and other news items on electoral reform, rather than conducting his own online survey.
If Mr Byron was working on behalf of the electoral commission his services would be received in a differently. But since he is here at the behest of that corrupt govt. He should be ignored especially the way he chooses to conduct the survey
Man; the puppet you are’ you need to stop talking bull!
When you suggest that people should ” support electoral reform survey:” it’s an insult to our peoples intelligence! All of us Dominicans are not idiots; we all do not play partisan politics; and surely are not all puppets of Roosevelt Skerrit who supports his efforts to deny the nation of electoral reform.
While you are pussy-footing; getting paid by the Dominica taxpayers, you simply wasting time.
Take an example out of Antigua and Gaston Brown play book, you will find it only took a few weeks to implement such reform in Antigua!
When you suggest people support the survey, you are pretending that Dominicans are against electoral reform; if anybody is against it; they are supports of Roosevelt and his Labor Party clones and people like you who benefits directly from corruption, and bogus elections in Dominica!
You keep milking the cow.
I Am!
Francisco Etienne-Dods-Telemaque
Folks is this what Dominicans have been reduced to? What wrong with this guy? Man just take your loot and run, run. Yu don have to wait for midnight under the cover of darkness or do any foolish like unsecure online survey- that is crap. I have 10 email and I have access to 10 computers and I will be filling that survey 10 times AND I have 10 names and 10 Dates of Birth ….. Where is the security and Quality Assurance? Those of you who support this crap then I have a bridge in Layou for sale- bargain basement price, + rebate. I am ashamed to call myself Dominica. Sir Byron please go, please.
Byron and his team…, could anybody tell us the names of those team members. They wouldn’t have been handpicked by Skerrit by any chance? This is just another token gesture by Skerrit. Don’t be fooled… The outcome of this survey is already decided before it started.
There must be a very good reason for Skerrit to give this man this job and asking him now to initiate a electoral reform survey. Skerrit you can’t be serious…! You, your Ministers and electoral office are well aware what is needed and what is required. So absolutely no reason for a stupid survey. Who are you trying to fool. Stop the electoral treating to start of with and then we made the FIRST step towards reform!
“The survey will be accessible online via the Electoral Office’s website” http://electoraloffice.gov.dm/ really? Really!? Who manages and controls this website? The Government of Dominica! Who has administrative ownership and operational access to the data and analytics of this website? The Government of Dominica!
Why not use an independent professional online survey company like SurveyMonkey to manage the electronic survey part of the work and they will provide you Sir Byron with the data and analytics? At least they can manage and prevent fraud and duplications because that is their job, they are more online survey savvy than you, the Electoral Office, or the Government of Dominica!
yes I. I don’t see the need for all that story. paying a man how much money..All that needs to be done is to clean the voters list..
@My Dominica
We need ID cards to vote….More crucially we need campaign finance reform.
We need a total package of comprehensive electoral reform, no piecemeal reform this time around….From what i see thus far though, seem like we will have to fight for it with every once of energy, grit, determination, conviction that keep us alive…I am ready….Are you?
We live in a post morality world. People who we considered to be incorruptible and morally impeccable are now prostituting themselves for ten pieces of silver. Too many modern day Judases.
No matter how holy, no matter how many degrees, no matter how many letters in- front or behind their name, every man has a price. Does Mr. Byron? Your guess is as good as mine. Who would want to turn down an opportunity to pocket an easy $400 000? Who pays the piper calls the tune.
There are so many eminently qualified legal luminaries and persons of impeccable character of Dominican birth and descent, why this foreigner?
There is no need to reinvent the wheel for electoral reforms when clear and precise documentation of this has been done by reputable organizations with the requisite expertise and experience.
This is a colossal abuse and waste of scarce resources by a man who has a penchant to lavish the country’s CBI funds on foreigners. Meanwhile poor and desperate Dominicans are engaging in illicit and immoral activities to put food on the table.
There is a very sorry state of affairs that has enveloped the country.
We won’t get proper electoral reform unless we flood the streets protesting and demonstrating for days.
This is a scheme (a deceptive strategem) for Skerrit to say that he gave us electoral reform, but the opposition did not want reform…. So if we do not fight for proper reform, we will go into another general election without electoral reform!!
Remember who Skerrit is::
An inveterate liar
A deceiptful creature
A cunning cheater
An evil human being
A serial law (constitutional) breaker
Why at this hour. Such a notice should be out 8 months ago. Give the information time to circulate. Some people may need time to equip themselves to get a compter because money is not readily available.
Byron should be on all radio stations long ago for questions from the public with regards to their concerns.
All lives matter.
I note the following: the “press release” originates from the OECS; the populace is asked to SUPPORT, not PARTICIPATE in.
. Mr. Byron, with all his EXPERIENCE, has decided to only have electronic participation by citizens over 18 years; how is he going to assure that participants only vote once?? What of the participation of CBI citizens, are they allowed to contribute?
No individual, no matter how qualified, how well-intentioned the process is, can be more knowledgeable than the people. I humbly suggest that for the price of the exercise, he and his team go through the different communities and speak to the people, since not everyone has access to the internet.
The methodology chosen by him, to my mind, is not, in any way, a reflection of the experience so gloriously penned at the bottom of the press release.
I sincerely hope that you give a listening ear to this suggestion.
HOTEP!
There is absolutely no reason to re-invent anything when it comes to electoral reforms in Dominica. This has been done by many competent authorities and organizations over decades. This present effort is to bamboozle the electorate.
The people and the eminently qualified organizations and groups have called for a complete re-registration of the voters, vote where you reside, full disclosure of campaign financing, voter ID cards, voters who live outside Dominica must not be out for more than five years of the previous election to be eligible, equal access for all parties on State radio, etc.
What new ifeas does Mr. Byron have to offer? Not a thing! Online questionnaire? Worst idea ever as you’ll get fraud galore.
All these titles are just that, titles . Will his team consist of members of the opposition. The Prime Minister is paying him, but the survey will be impartial: Come on.
Lennox, keep up the pressure. Oh by the way, yup, it is Linton and not Lawrence.
Let me quote the very words of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to Dennis Byron ” Go to hell”. Those were the words of Skerrit to Dominicans so if it was good for us it’s good for his friend Dennis Byron
So Skerrit moved us from the “Nature Isle” of the Caribbean to the “Fools paradise”of the Caribbean then? I mean we get so foolish that we need to get a kittisian to tell us who is qualified to vote in our own country? Why didn’t Dennis Byron fix the voters list in St. Kitts so his friend and former PM Denzil Douglas would not have to get a dark corrupt passport from Skerrit to force him out of politics? If that Dennis Byron had any pride left he would have disassociated himself from Skerrit the moment he discovered that Skerrit sold /gave a Diplomatic passport to his then prime minister. But to be in bed with that same Skerrit tells me that he doesn’t deserve my respect or trust
Could anyone please tell me whether This judge has presided over any case involving Skerrit or his team and the outcome??
Once again the rich, powerful and we’ll connected think they can do what the hell they want and it is right. I want to ask Dennis Byron a couple questions. How can he verify that those participating in his online survey are citizens of Dominca? As Dominicans we don’t even know who holds citizenship. Also will the economic citizens be allowed to participate with their biasness for the regime which enabled them to get citizenship to begin with? How many survey forms will each person be allowed to submit? When analyzing the survey forms will weight be given to the responses and how will those who sent in multiple survey forms be prevented from biasing the result? Will Byron be consulting the recommendations of the Carricom body which came to Dominica and consulted with locals before putting out a report on the issues of electoral reform? Will Dennis participate in breaking the laws pertaining to the authority of the electoral commission with the assistance of Skerritt? I smell a rat.
With the greatest respect Sir Byron, I do not think you should be involved in any way whatsoever in our election process and neither should be our Prime Minister. It is the exclusive preserve of our electoral as outlined in our constitution.
Sir Dennis is an expert jurist. I’d question that as a citizen of Dominca knowing there are square pegs in round holes all over the place. Then why would he allow Skerritt to engage him to do work on behalf of the electoral commission, as he should have known that according to the laws governing the electoral commission, that the Prime minister nor his cabinet cannot make decisions for the electoral commission. It shows that Sir Dennis is participating in an illegal exercise. He could have waited and asked Skerritt to properly constitute the commission, because as it stands now the commission is duly constituted and he hasn’t begun the work. How can I have confidence in someone who facilitates corruption? Byron should start all over again and ensure he has all the ducks in a row, then I’ll give him respect and respect the exercise he’s undertaking. Until then suspicion will hang over whatever he comes up with. What was the rush about?
Putting $400 000 in one man’s pocket in these critically tough economic times is a sin. There is absolutely no need for Mr. Dennis ‘s services as CARICOM, OAS, Commonwealth, local civil groups and prominent jurists have laid out a blueprint on the way forward for electoral reforms. There is nothing new this prominent Caribbean and international legal luminary can devise that hasn’t been suggested before.
This effort is just a delaying tactic or a subterfuge to make excuses. Remember, everything that Skerrit does is painstakingly planned to create a specific narrative or to get an advantage over his perceived enemies.
Dominicans should call on Roosevelt to withhold the $400 000 and implement the reforms suggested by the aforementioned organizations.
Sir Denis, i noted that people must be 18yrs and over, the survey will be anonymous, no names or identifiers will be required.
My issues/queries are:
– since no names are required,
it cannot be based on the voters list…,which is already tainted anyway.
– people can vote at my home, then go vote at Jonh Doe’s home.(vote many times)
– are CBI nationals eligible to take part in the survey?
-many non labourites on island do not have computers.
-those who are not computer savy are already disenfranchised
Sir Denis with all due respect to you sir, if this exercise is to go ahead as it is, the result will not be valid…
I am vex and extremely disappointed right now!!!!