By Donald C. Peters PhD – When a nation distinctively go to the polls and elect a political party in a democratic and fair elections 18 seats to 3 something must have gone very very right for one party and something must have gone radically wrong for the other.
In the aftermath of an election sweep at the polls in the 2010 Dominica National elections by the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) over the United Workers Party (UWP) it merits that scholars of political science, history and local politicians step back and pay close scrutiny to the anatomy of this unprecedented victory by the Roosevelt Skerrit-led Dominica Labour Party.
The Victory was comprehensive and decisive resulting in the largest electoral margin in Dominica’s election history since independence: –
• The result was 18 seats to DLP 3 to UWP
• The UWP went from 7 seats in parliament to 3
• The political leader lost his seat
• The Deputy political was rejected by his constituents
• The nation sent an emphatic message to the UWP that they were not good enough to manage the country a second time
How could the UWP lose so badly?
Dominica’s so called experts of pseudo intellectuals and backyard pundits had predicted a close election and some of UWP supporters and other UWP officials had even predicted a win for the UWP. It is remarkable that those individuals never provided any evidence to support that claim of winning. Our own consulting firm continuous scientific analysis throughout the campaign indicated that the DLP would win a minimum of 15 seats and that the election was not at all close. The UWP like other parties in the Caribbean found out that there is a major difference between counting emotionally and counting scientifically. In fact, I worked the 2005 national elections in Dominica and always felt that the 2005 election was always going to be closer than the 2010.
What went wrong?
The UWP had four and a half years to plan their election strategy for the 2010 national election but got caught unprepared for Prime Minister Skerrit’s surprise announcement of the December 18th, 2009 general elections. Secondly, the UWP continued to feed their supporters a dose of fragile hope, based solely on a campaign, built around a comprehensive and relentless attack on the character of the Prime Minister. What was faulty about this approach is that this was the very same strategy utilized in the 2005 campaign. That strategy failed miserable in 2005 and it failed again in 2010. In fact, the UWP used the very same individuals that they used in 2005 to malign the Prime Minister in 2010. Only this time they used a different radio station because the station used in 2005 (Kairi FM) was no longer available to them since all of the airtime for the duration of the campaign was bought by the DLP.
The UWP entire campaign within the three week period essentially amounted to the following:
• First, there were the three blind mice on the radio who called themselves journalist. These men together with a number of the usual government bashers spent the entire election rehashing bin borbol, fertilizer borbol, where did the Prime Minister obtain the finance to build his home? Who owns the lilac villas and the speed boat?
The question the voters kept asking themselves however was what did the Prime Minister’s house have to do with providing quality health care, universal education, housing for the working class, roads for the farmers, and assistance to the elderly and help for small businesses? The answer to that question was ‘NOTHING!’ and it now appears that people would have liked the UWP to focus on telling the population what plans they had to address all of the above. No one seemed to be paying attention. The three gentlemen at Q95 continued to spew out their venom aimed solely at the Prime Minister, who all the while was simple going about his business, successfully running the country.
• The UWP provided no strategic plan for meeting the country’s need. In the eleventh hour they launched a twenty point pledge which was suppose to be the sum total of their campaign and two days before the election when people kept asking for a party manifesto the leader of the UWP Mr. Ron Green at the Newtown Savannah made his now famous pronouncement that the UWP had launched its manifesto in a new way “online.” Mr. Green did not even give a website or a web link to the manifesto. This misinformation typified the UWP’s campaign, one characterized by misinformation, Innuendos, and accusations. That very night to the scientific observer the UWP lost the elections and December 18th, 2009 became just a formality. In effect the UWP had waged a national election campaign from the studios of a radio station in the hands of three emotionally charged disc jockeys preaching to their own perennial supporters. Where was the UWP leadership? Did they endorse the utterances of these jockeys? It now appears that no one was listening, no one believed them, and in the end everyone voted against them. There is a lesson to be learnt from this Labour Party landslide!
What is to be learnt?
Political parties in the region are beginning to feel the outcome of a progressively sophisticated populace; Caribbean voters seem no longer willing to vote for a party simple because they criticize the ruling party. The voters now appear to want to know what are the political parties going to do, that will improve the citizen’s quality of life. They don’t really care if the Prime Minister has a boat or a horse or as in the case of St Lucia whether the leader is elderly. Political parties in opposition do not seem to have learnt any of those lessons, and continue to take the population for granted.
In St. Kitts for instance the People’s Action Movement (PAM) is running a campaign base on a slogan that says “it’s time for change.” Like the UWP, they have not presented a national strategic plan that has potential for improving the lives of the people of St. Kitts. They are instead banking that the slogan will work. The news may be bad for PAM. unless they are able to present a strategic comprehensive plan to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, they too will most likely lose the 2010 general elections and the Labour Party will win a fourth term.
In the early years after independence the population of the region was just beginning to understand the value of their votes and how to elect parties that are best equipped both philosophically and strategically to govern the country, but in the last decade that has changed. Today’s voters want to see a strategic plan of how a party intends to govern, how they intend to improve the economy and the quality of life of the citizens and more importantly how they plan to fund those improvements. In Dominica Prime Minister Skerrit and the DLP understood that concept very well. First, they delivered on their promises to the people, secondly they paid attention to the people who needed to be helped the most and finally, they delivered a manifesto with a strategic plan on the way forward, and together with the experience and history of fiscal responsibility and caring that they had manifested throughout their term in office, they convinced the population to re-elect them to govern. That in a nutshell is the anatomy of a landslide!
In the future, regional political parties need to listen to the voice of the people and present at all times a plan for governing, and a blueprint of how their governance will better the lives of the average citizens.
Donald C. Peters PhD is an international consultant working in the region
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and staff of Dominica News Online and its parent companies.
Tags: Election 2009
the post election analysis is built on a weak foundation. firstly calling the dominican voting electorate as more sophisticated borders on the hilarious. not saying that my country men are unintelligent but i think the writer is playing what you would call “buttering their mouth” with sweet nothings on the those who consider themselves supporters of the ruling party. we all know that the majority of voters do not contemplate higher level cognitive values such as morality, integrity, accountability and transparency which would enable them to be truly sophisticated in the decision making process. i think that the ruling party preys on the unsophisticated nature of most voters as is apparent in their election strategy. hire some big bands, hire a lot of buses and give out a lot of goodies attest to this. in my view the ruling party did not do that much of a better job in outlining a clear cut direction for the development of all aspects of dominica. the portfolio presented was not even the cornerstone of their campaign hence the need for late promises by the prime minister.
another weakness i believe is the need for data collection when we analyze other wise we are just stating opinion and not truly analyzing an outcome. therefore what needs to be done is asking the voters by questionnaire or otherwise as to their reason for voting for a particular party.
a strategy of false promises, using the old and the young who unwittingly fall victims to an effective propaganda campaign may constitute a victory in some circles but the virtues of the human spirit cannot be undermined indefinitely. and as the proverbial saying goes we reap what we sow. now everybody waiting on houses, all students expect their way to be paid and the burden on taxpayers will eventually rise to feed the growing monster of depend on government that has be created.
The government needs to free up the customs a bit. Too much charges on used vehicles. You only making us stay poor in our own country when you rip us off like that. Try to find other ways to bring in income. free us up in that customs a little bit.
I have read the article and in some ways I do agree that UWP ran a very poor campaign they allowed themselves to got caught up with all of the corruptions of the DLP and it’s leader and forgot to listen to the people and to explain why they should be the better party to run the country they waited to late in the game to released their plan it should have been out there from the get go. Mr.Green was speaking but wasnt sounding with any passion he wasnt reaching the people and he never ever changed, all thru out the campaign he spoke more about corruption while the voters were not comvinved he was the man for the job
But that doesnt mean that the election was fair it was not when their was no proper voters list and campaign reform was no where to be seen their were a lot of incentives encouraging voters to join the DLP party and for that we will allow the COURT to decide.
I differ to say DOMINICANS were educated sophisticated voters they were not sophisticated voters and I agreed they do rather the parties loyalty and it’s leaders and refuse to ask themselves very serious questions of those in public office or those running for public office and that is sad they have to start listening and dont allow others to think for them.
I do believe the writer of the article missed a lot of important issues on both sides instead he fell short of convincing me as well as others that it was a fair election and paying to bring in Dominican from over sea to influence the election was justified.
I will agree that UWP need to focus on issues and how they can make DOMINICA better for it’s people and I am speaking for the people there we need actions let the COURT deal with the petitions stop talking about it.
Another thing a Journalist job is to bring stories to light they are not there to set out the team for campaigning that’s where the UWP failed they incorporated and made the corruption stories their main campaign speechs and after a while people stoped listening I am sure some of the voters didnt want the DLP to win either but there was no other party ready for the job.
UWP can be a stronger party with new and dedicated people with a stronge back bone but they have to stop looking backwards put their energy in rebuilding the party learn from their mistakes and get ready for next general election.
KrR8WS Excellent article, I will take note. Many thanks for the story!
Weak analysis for PHD. Which of these conclusions could the layman not come too if he supported the government.
Mr or should i say Dr. peters. That is well written, but you know and i know that is not the case in this event.
it is simple….who has more money and can buy more voters will win the election. It is that simple and you know it.
Can you do another research and let us know the unemployment rate in Dominica? For there are a lot of unemployed youth in the country…The crime rate is climbing the ladder with haste…..drugs, on the rise.
God bless Dominica
When people refuse to work for themselves they will be bought. How can there be growth in a country when people only live for today and there is nothing to sustain thenm for the future. Look at agriculture what has been done to bring Dominica back as an agricultural nation. Education is for all, survey our HIGH SCHOOLS AND GRADE THE READING LEVEL OF THE SCHOOL CHILDREN. I do not mean knowing words but actually reading properly. That means reading with punctuation and tone. Now, people who cannot read properly their understanding is generally poor. Taking that into consideration access the understanding of my people. After all that high school education what next after college. The employment is needed. The HORSE is there but what is it PULLING. There is no strategy in anything done in Dominica because people do not see further than their noses.
What has the Labour Party done to increase foreign revenue coming into the island other than the hand outs from Venezuela and China? What is the real growth of Dominica’s economy the past 10 years? What are the performance levels of Agriculture? Tourism? Manufacturing? IT?
There is nothing sophisticated at all about a populace that grabs freeness without asking questions. This Peter’s guy is clearly biased and out to miseducate. His whole article was 100% pro labour. I do agree it was a fair election in that I don’t think any hanky panky went on at the polling stations. All the hanky panky went on months even years before using Uncle Hugo’s largesse and God knows whoelse’s to buy people by “giving”handouts. Sophisticated populace? hardly. Ignorant and uneducated.
At any rate Labour Party won so let’s get on with it.
UWP need to go and do there homework, they need to get there act together before they can win any election, workers need to accept defeat and more on, they are just sorry lossers. labour all the way, labour forever,and we not coming out there now
what happened with the Dominica elections can be explained in a few simple terms: re-election of the Dominican Idol…Mr Roosevelt Skerrit! You speak of emotions…the real emotional people are all his supporters…this can be witnessed by their online comments: give skerro another chance; he (skerro) deserves it; we love our PM,etc. Essentially other labour candidates should give all credit to THEIR LEADER because without him on the ticket they were just another Dominican.
The new word for elections in Dominica right now should be “The Dominica Idol” and as long as Skerro is contesting HE will always win. Essentially facts and plans for development are secondary to who’s on the ticket!
PEACE!
london check skerritt he better than you ka mem PEOPLE LIKE ALL U THAT WELL WANT TO COME DOMINICA BECAUSE WE LIVING A BETTER LIFE THAN PEOPLE LIKE U
Mr. Skerritt deserved it trust me…HE DESERVED IT LET THEM TRY TO CALL FOR ANOTHER ELECTION WE TAKING SALISBRY AND ROSEAU IN THEIR HAND
Whatever we may say, the UWP consistent efforts to encourage or even bribe the Freedom party to regroup and contest elections indicates that
– they recognise their very limited appeal to the Dominican Electorate.
– their campaign base solely on corruption is deceptively geared towards the electorate emotional not intellectual response. Although, recently some of our so called intellectuals, especially those hiding in University Lecture Halls or in secure Foreign Bureaucracies have been pretty strident against the govt. Mix of jealousy and cowardness. (Skerritt’s success must be illegitimate)
– I totally endorse your theory on the progressive sophistication (education) of the voter will eventually weed-out the UWP, if they refuse to change their approach to electioneering.
and to commonsense if Cordorcet’s paradox was not satisfied blame whoever did not provide a manifesto, used emotionally charged rhetoric and failed the people, by not giving them a more promising alternative.
–
The DLP Party deserved to win this election, they have proven to the nation that they were well able to fullfill its last manifesto and is continuing to work for the best of Dominica. UWP clearly had no plan in place to take the country thru the next five years. They need to be more serious and STOP MINDING THE PRIME MINISTER BUSINESS. AND START MINDING THEIRS.
“Why is it that once people with common sense do not buy into your propaganda that you refer to them as corrupt, bought or uneducated? You people with that mentality make me sick. …. The people made a decision to accept progress over emptiness. Keep in mind that the UWP is a small minority which seems to be making a lot of noise with no one listening. ”
————————————
Yes Ron I co-sign that statement 1 million percent! Fed up of bitter workers party supporters believing they’re all geniuses and that Labourites are all stupid fools who voted for a handout. UWP is a dead party with only one stronghold left they need to get a grip and come to terms with reality that Dominicans r lookin forward not backward. We not swallowing our vomit.
After reading ..I do not support some of the things, mr. wrote.
I was disappointed in not reading anything about how ‘SOMETHING MUST HAVE GONE VERY, VERY RIGHT for the DLP to win the election..
He only lashed against the other PARTY.
He’s putting more wood in the fire.
London, are you feeling too cold or are you still dreaming? Get over it and stop griping. People like you sickens me with your stupid rumours!!!
This is the second attempt at posting this comment. The first version did not appear.
There is a serious error in “Logic Theory” in the belief that this is indeed a rigid analysis. The error: the belief that an idea or analysis must be correct because someone of import of significant educational / political or social standing is/are presenting the position / idea.
With all due respect to the author (Dr. Peters) of the above piece, there was no demonstration of Sophistication in the Voting Pattern manifested in the recently concluded D/can Elections,
In order to reflect sophistication, Social Choice Theory requires that, at a minimum, a couple of conditions be satisfied. The voter must
a) have detailed, unbiased information about all parties / candidates. [detailed information on /about > 3 parties must be considered to justify the Sophisticated voting pattern existed / occured]’ Was this condition satisfied? Whether through failure of parties or manipulation of media, the absence of this condition invalidates the notion of sophisticated voting.
b) be unencumbered by emotion in the decision-making process (i.e the behaviour must be logical).
I posit that these minimum conditions were not met. Accordingly, the voting pattern that characterized the recent election was ‘INTENTIONAL’ rather than ‘STRATEGIC’. There are numerous articles detailing the various aspect of ‘Social Choice Theory’. The writer would have done more justice to this presentation if these were considered.
Finally, the article is neither anatomical nor analytical:- What is the hypothesis being tested, what analytical methods were employed, how was / were the models validated?
The deliberate exclusion of contextually pertinent information in presentation of a specific piece has a known definition in Academic circles. I will leave this for the readers and writes to discern.
CommonSense
With all due respect; convincing evidence was not presented by the author that support STRATEGIC Voting by a SOPHISTICATED Electorate.
For the latter to occur, at a minimum, the voter must
a) have had equal and balanced information on all parties; [> 3 parties is a requirement for validity]. The author did not discuss the other parties or the extent to which voters throughout the island was exposed to information about all parties.
b) have demonstrated, unequivocal rationality in decision making (i.e absence of emotion).
In the absence of these, then I posit that the November 18, 2009 voting pattern reflected an ‘INTENTIONAL VOTING’ pattern rather than ‘STRATEGIC’. That being the case, there was no sophistication in this Social Behaviour that characterized the recent outcome.
I suggest the the author of the above article should have spent some time examining the various theories of ‘Social Choice’ prior to submitting this work. It is not an intellectual Analysis; it not rooted in solid Social Choice Theory. There are no hypotheses, analytical methods, test of validity (including iterations) or comparison of expected vs true outcome. Pools are far from scientific!
Advocacy of a position that consciously omits aspects of truth and facts that are contextually relevant
has a definition that I will leave the readers and author of the ?Analysis? to crystallize.
It over and done with , move on what joy did the win bring to anyone in Dominica none why are they still gripping about UWP loss its done already, Dominicans should be looking a t w hat is happening now their beloved PM is getting kicked out by his own party a nd Ambrose George is becoming PM, think people it not over till the fat lady sings. who will be laughing soon
are these the same ignorant few on comedy central?? lmao
u are insignificant just like your vote….
labour power forever …
Did you all expect anything different from Donald Peters?
He is very biased and i must question his motive for writing this article. I am of the honest opinion that he want that ‘job’ so badly that he has to align himself to the ruling party. Everybody singing for their supper. lol
its interesting reading all these political “pulling and pushing” but it´s also a very good way the dr, analyzed this victory by the DLP. one point that coames to my mind is that, adfter 15 years that the leader or UWP dominated his constituency, something most have changed dramatically to have lost it now. thats says alot about the party.more so do we really think that if the DLP had not have brought voters down , they would not have won?…don´t think so, but alot still take comfort in the fact that this is one of the key issues that caused the DLP to win. then 18-3 wow thats a big margin , and did the DLP in any of there seat , struggle to win it back,,,,NOOO.really all the accusations against teh PM. THEY MAY HAVE SOME WEIGHT. but, the guy is actually doing something for the country. i prsonally think. if he takes $1. for himself and used the othe 9$ to help the country , thats ok with me, but really ithink the other political parties should aoffer the country something more substantial to gain the confidence of the dominican people, because if not DLP will be here for a few more years,if it for developement, i am all for it, if the other parties have something better to offer, then i will galdly follow them
blackheart
This was a well written summary of some of the LANDSLIDE VICTORY FOR LABOUR IN 2K9 DEC 18TH POLL IN DOMINICA.
MY advise to the UWP IS TO STUDY WHAT dr PETERS HAVE WRITTEN AND MAKE A SERIOUS POST MORTEM OF THE ELECTIONS.
i DO HOPE THAT THEY DONT BOYCOTT THERE PEOPLE by staying away from parliament.. I never thought that labour could have gotten over 600 votes in Salisbury and lost that seat by a mere 200 plus votes…if this is not significant I dont know what else is ! In light of this factor one can say that its IN ONLY MARIGOT THAT UWP SEEMS TO HAVE ANY SIGNIFICANT FOLLOWING as per 2014/15 polls in DA.
The DLP political machine can effectively create a change of fortune in Sallisbury and Roseau Central in next elections ( do you know that labour party got a significant number of rejected ballots at the polls ? ) If this was nt the case their margin of victory would have been greater nationally and would have won the Roseau Central seat ?
WORKERS WAKE UP AND GET NEW BLOOD; ITS CLEAR THAT DOMINICANS DONT LOVE YOU AND TRUST YOU AND BELIEVE IN YOUR PARTY.
LABOURITES COMPLAIN THE MOST BUT VOTE THEIR PARTY WHEN IT MATTERS MOST !
TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Dr.Peters, BRAVO BRAVO this article is well written and was well thought of ..So away with all those who see otherwise. They complaining about the plane loads of people that come down to vote, but some of these people actually vote the other dum party. Dr.P tell all those who dont agree with you TO HELL WITH THEM .we have the working party in power and we have the man who will take Dominica to the next level..BRAVO DR.P BRAVO..I waiting for all of all you
@Ron
What does the challenge to Peter’s credibility have to do with my opinion about the credibility or lack of, of the ‘three blind mice.” Nowhere did I state any support for these guys. And please don’t insult my intelligence or your own by suggesting that none of the allegations during the campaign about the Skerrit led DLP had merit.
Really, which objective commentator refers to any body as ‘three blind mice” and then expects to be taken seriously?
You said
“The People have spoken and choose progress. Until now the UWP (Ron Green) hasn’t defined “clean and green” and how it translates to jobs etc. Dr. Peters was absolutely right when pointed out the Mr. Green had no development plans for the country.”
That is all well and good and you are very correct about the UWP and Ron Green, but does that preclude everything else that was wrong about the DLP campaign?
It is my humble belief that being happy with a DLP win over the UWP does not mean that we should minimize all the dishonesty and questionable acts staring us in our face and simply shout ‘progress’ as if that were the end of it all.
INCIDER or should I say CONFUSED…..Did you just admit to accepting $5000 that you did not “asked” for? Wow!!!! I wonder what you did with it. You need to look in the mirror before you accuse others of corrupt behavior because your accepting of $5000 is nothing to be proud of. If i were you I would return that money before saying another word.
Why is it that once people with common sense do not buy into your propaganda that you refer to them as corrupt, bought or uneducated? You people with that mentality make me sick. …. The people made a decision to accept progress over emptiness. Keep in mind that the UWP is a small minority which seems to be making a lot of noise with no one listening.
At least I can take the DLP word to the bank because i see something happening in the country. All i see with the UWP is a bunch of stooges who focus seemed to be blurred by a mirage of corruption.
who focus seemed to be blurred a mirrage of corruption.
NONESENSE. Theft, lies, threat to democracy by limiting access to the local media and bribery is what cause DLP to win. Why the plane load of persons were brought in? Why bus loads of persons were move from constituencies to constituencies to balance out and or unbalance the voters. This is the biggest Political theft in modern history, bigger than any that have taken place in Haiti and Cuba, worst than what happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. I just hope that we are not heading down that road
cause if so ..”Heaven Help Us All”
I find this analysis by Donald Peter somewhat shallow and completely blind to the reality of events leading up to the general elections.
How can he ignore the issue of campaign financing, the origin of campaign financing for Labor, for instance. Where did all the millions come from? China? Venezuela?
What does it say about us as a people if we allow money to be the dominant force in our politics? Are there things or values we hold more sacred than money?
And how about the issue of fairness in media access? Did DBS live up to its expectation as the people’s radio station? Does the behavior of the policy makers at DBS offend the sense of justice of Donald Peters?
And equally important, is Donald Peters suggesting that issues of corruption do not rise to the level where they should be a part of the national dialogue if there are credible allegations?
Lastly, Dr. Peters must ask himself whether his opinions are offered freely and without to any hidden motive to appear to be on the right side of the political aisle.
Did I hear that he is under consideration for the top job at DSC?
Was expecting an unbias article form Dr. Peters and I really hope that he had produce on.
Very disappointed Dr.
This is clearly a commentary and not an anatomy. Please label it as what it is.
THIS ARTICLE DID NOT MENTION THE NUMBER OF TICKETS THAT WERE PURCHASED BY THE DOMINICA LABOUR PARTY, NUMBER OF FLIGHTS THAT WERE CHATTERED FRON NEWYORK, LONDON, ETC. THE AMOUNT OF TREASURY’S MONEY THAT WAS SHARED UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS UNIT AS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES DURING THE ELECTION CANPAIGN. I RECEIVED EC$5000 UNDER THAT PROGRAM AND I DID NOT EVEN SUBMIT A BUSINESS PLAN NOR DID I ASK FOR IT-THAT WAS SIMPLY AN ATTEMPT TO BUY MY VOTE.
ONE THING I MUST MENTION IS THAT GOVERNMENTS ARE GENERALLY A REFLECTION OF IT’S PEOPLE SO IF THE GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT, ETC. AND THEY ARE GIVEN A SECOND MANDATE, THEN THAT MAY REFLECT THE PEOPLE NOT HAVING A SUITABLE ALTERNATIVE OR MAYBE THE PEOPLE ARE CORRUPT, OR MAYBE THE MAJORITY WERE FOOLED, BOUGHT, OR MAYBE THEY ARE UNEDUCATED, ETC. BUT AT THE END OF IT ALL THE MAJORITY HAVE TO REMAIN IN DOMINICA BECAUSE ONLY WHO CAN AFFORD TO RUN WILL RUN, AND THOSE WHO CAN’T WILL HAVE TO STAY, OPORTUNITIES ARE SCARCE COMMODITIES ESPECIALLY AFTER SO MUCH SPENDING FROM THE TREASURY, THE PUBLIC’S PURCE, DURING THE ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN BY THE INCUMBENT DLP. SO MUCH MONEY WAS SPENT, AND THAT MONEY HAVE TO BE REPLACED.
ONE THING THAT IS SURE, MR. EDISON JAMES, RON GREEN, NORRIS PREVOST CAN AFFORD THERE DAILLY BREAD, AND THEY CAN SURELY AFFORD TO RUN SINCE THEY HAVE EUROPEAN, AND AMERICAN DEGREE, THEY HAVE THERE UNIVERSITY DEGREES, AND THEY HAVE WORKED HARD ALL THEIR LIVES. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE I LEAST WORRY ABOUT. I AM MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE POOR %70 OF THE POPULATION THAT CANOT AFFORD 10% OF WHAT THESE GUYS(RON GREEN,ETC.) CAN AFFORD.
WHILE THE DOMINICA LABOUR PARTY MAY HAVE BEEN THE BETTER CHOICE FOR NOW, THOUGH I’M NOT A LABOURITE, IT IS EVIDENT. I DON’T SEE A REASON TO REJOICE AND EXULT A LABOUR PARTY WIN BECAUSE THERE WERE JUST TO MANY FAULTS DURING THERE LAST TERM IN OFFICE.
GOD BLESS DOMINICA!
Who is posing as Deecee? Certainly sounds like Gabu, but that’s besides my point. I think this article says it all and hits the nail on the head. For all the people talking saying that the article is bias and what have you they can’t dispute the factual nature of the article.
To L – We know the truth hurts but you statement, “The views expressed in the article would be more substantial if they were coming from an objective observer. We all know it is not.” has absolutely no merit. Has anything objective come from the mouth of the three stooges or three blind mice (your good buddies)?
To all the L’s and Deecee’s, get a grip. The People have spoken and choose progress. Until now the UWP (Ron Green) hasn’t defined “clean and green” and how it translates to jobs etc. Dr. Peters was absolutely right when pointed out the Mr. Green had no development plans for the country.
One of the many fatal errors that Mr. Green made was to allow the three blind mice to lead the UWP failed campaign. Sadly to say, Mr. Green hasn’t learned. He seems to be heading down the same path of shame and embarrassment. Is this the quality of a true leader or a puppet?
NONESENSE. Theft, lies, threat to democracy by limiting access to the local media and bribery … Why the plane load of persons were brought in? Why bus loads of persons were move from constituencies to constituencies to balance out and or unbalance the voters. This is the biggest Political theft in modern history, bigger than any that have taken place in Haiti and Cuba, worst than what happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. I just hope that we are not heading down that road
cause if so ..”Heaven Help Us All”
L, I read your comment,if the people was so nicely voted the way YOU LOVE OR RATHER WANT! you would have never had called them in good english, Dommies, well well well,sorry for you, pls read proverbs you need it,
look crap, how u get a phd dere ? if labour was so strong why send for thousands overseas ????
why bribe so many voters, man unno wat elections pass, enjoy ur 5 years, …
enjoy it while it lasts, and one last ting, respek lennox and dem boy, dey dont sign for supper like u…
u goin say the bin bol bol and fertilzer scandal where not true ????
Deecee, An anatomy is not a post-mortem.
Three blind mice… more like the 3 stooges, as evidenced by their contribution to the UWP campaign. But seriously I have decided to stop referring to their radio station as Q95… but rather call it Comedy Central.
They are just a bunch of jokers, pretending to be journalist and making a mockery of the profession.
There is a difference between an anatomy and a commentary. An anatomy must take in consideration that an election is not won just on the three weeks campaign but should analyse even briefly the performance and deservedness of the ruling party in office, the worthiness of the candidates, youth vote and demographics, overseas influences, campaign finance advantage, media fairness or lack of it, the results of debates or the lack of them. This is just about bashing the opposition by a government supporter checking himself in the good time. The low blow at the journalist is foolishness and not worthy of a Phd and reduces the article to a farticle.. It is a fact that the journalist forced the PM and Dopwell to pay money back into the treasury so how can they be blind mice. It is the people who were blind until they showed us what was going on. To say that the opposition should not have dwelt on corruption shows how corruption has become acceptable as our way of life in politics. It seems that the UWP was thrown out for allegations of corruption but this administration gets a pass and now it is – forget corruption, forget corruption. We await the next Ambrose fiasco, but ofcourse it still will not matter, as it is our way of life nowadays.
well put together
nice article… i agree to a point that it is partisan BUT acurate..lol….. i agree with DOminican on the oposition issue.. while that is true even with ten or less sits in parliement the UWP is not strong oposition so it really dont make a diference….. with regards to employment….. in no one country will u see the a gorvernment being able to employ every unemployed person…. the government provides education oportunities for the people to capacitate them so the can return and create their own business develop the private sector and provide employment for others….
there are even funds alocated for small business development…. that can be classified as providin employment…..
The views expressed in the article would be more substantial if they were coming from an objective observer. We all know it is not.
While the UWP ran a miserable, ineffective campaign, it is questionable as to whether Dominicans fall under the heading of “sophisticated Caribbean voters.”
A more insightful analysis would try to account for the reason why these so called ‘sophisticated’ voters would choose to ignore the staggering indicators of corruption in favour of a little infrastructural development.
We all know why the DLP won and it is not because of all the high falluting reasons given above.
It is because Dominicans are in fact largely unsophisticated voters who place more emphasis on party loyalty, and who worship Skerrit and who are now willing to cast aside as meaningless, questionable activity in public office.
Skerrit was not given a mandate by those who are educated or those who he has awarded scholarships to, or intellectuals like Dr. Peters. He won because of the votes of the mass of rural voters who were given great incentives to vote Labour.
Well said Dr.Peters. I am an open minded D/can and I was forced to listen to the “three blind mice” because my neighbour put his volume on 10,000 decibels. I cringed with fear when I heard the venom, hatred ,anger and desperation in their voices. I feared that if Mr. Skerrit would have lost the election, they would execute him forthwith. God sees the heart, he allowed a man with a clean heart who has a genuine love for people to win. ………..He allowed him to launch the manifesto, knowing full well the copies were not ready. The people of La plaine love Mr. Green, but it hurts to see him treated so badly by Edison James who obviously wants his party back. HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED.
This was my analysis days after the election.
WHY THE UWP LOST THE ELECTION IN DOMINICA
Since the general elections in Dominica on December 18 I have not seen any analysis on why the United Workers Party (UWP) faced such a humiliating defeat at the hands of Dominica Labour Party (DLP).
In my opinion those are the reasons why the UWP lost the elections:
1. They had no consistent message on issues and policies for the development of Dominica.
2. The UWP made corruption in the DLP its main issue during the campaign while issues and policies for the development of Dominica (as mentioned above) took a distant and inconsistent second place. While the issue of corruption is a valid point for discourse, it cannot win and election in and of itself. Note that these corruption allegations has never been substantiated.
3. The UWP never connected with the masses because of number two above. The people got tired of the corruption argument, just like the people of the US got tired of the “Obama is not an American citizen” argument preached by the ultra-conservatives during the presidential campaign.
4. The UWP allowed some so called ‘journalists’ to be their unofficial mouth piece during the campaign. These journalist used media outlets like Q95 and thedominican.net not to discuss issues facing the country but preach negativity and make outrageous claims like Venezuelan warships coming to the shores of Dominica to monitor the elections and or intimidate people to vote the DLP. These journalist, of all people, should know that opinion should be based, no matter how loosely, on facts. In their “fact free” paradise these journalists felt free to bash anyone who did not agree with them without giving any reason except personal dislike or distaste. All they did was spew negativity. Hate speech, no matter how genteel, is not journalism..
Furthermore the UWP has lost its core political message. The UWP burst on the scene in the waning days of Mary Eugenia Charles, affectionately known as “Mamo” and the leader of the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) who had foreseen the fall of the banana industry (the mainstay of the Dominican economy) and was arguing that the economy be diversified.
Edison James, a founder of the UWP and a banana farmer himself, became a bitter opponent of diversification arguing that such process would cause thousands of Dominicans to lose their only source of income, the cultivation of banana. Being a largely agricultural society and afraid of losing their livelihood the populace listened to Mr. James and jumped on his UWP bandwagon en masse.
When Mamo died, the DFP crumbled and the idea of diversifying the Dominican economy went down the drain.
The UWP, led by Mr. James, came to power in 1995 and continued depending on the banana industry as Dominica’s main source of income.
The banana industry, as we knew it, was given its death blow in September 1997 when the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that the LOME Convention (which gave preferential treatment and protection to bananas from former European colonies on the European market, including Dominica’s of course), was unfair international trading.
This happened exactly as Mamo, arguably one of Dominica’s greatest leaders, had foreseen.
So while our banana growing neighbors had diversified or were diversifying, Dominica missed the boat as Mr. James thought that the banana industry would last forever. This was a fatal blunder of the James led UWP administration and the effects are being felt to this day.
Since then the UWP has not come up with something that appeal to and grab the masses as it’s anti diversification argument of the late 80’s and early 90’s and support for it has been diminishing gradually. This can clearly be seen from the results of the last three general elections.
The UWP need to go back to the drawing board and rethink its political philosophy, its message, its vision. If not the party will continue losing elections and eventually join the DFP in the political graveyard.
how exactly is the country being crippled…? yes I admit there is a rather high unemployment rate in the mid 20s-30s but is it the fault of the Government? I mean common, 95% of unemployed people in Dominica are young people. There isn’t one unemployed Haitian in Dominica, that should give you an idea of where I’m getting at. The people who are unemployed are simply lazy, there’s lots of jobs available, and foreigners are filling those gaps. Chinese are making good business here, its not hard to do, any unemployed person with a will to be successful can start a business themselves with help from family.
Don’t even talk about education because education is in fact at an all time high. the average unemployed person has at least a high school education. With a high school education you can definitely be employed. A lot of the young unemployed people in Dominica are males who prefer to laze around all day when they could be learning a trade or doing agriculture.
Things are really looking up for Dominica under the current administration, but please do not rely on the govt to create jobs, people have everything at their finger tips, its up to them to utilize it and discover the many ways to make a descent living for themselves.
Commonsensical, pure and simple.
Recommended to all my PhD colleagues.
People get caught up in catch phrases such as” unbiased vews”,” fair and balanced” reporting, all creatures of right wing republican propaganda machinery. A view is a perspective, a slant, an opinion delivered in sincerity from a vantage point of intelligent observation. The article by Dr Peters points to the weaknesses, poor planning and ineffective campaign methods of a party that was founded on a poor constitution, lacking an uplifting philosophy as it waltzed and waxed its way into oblivion.
like there is a constructive political party in dominica……all parties do the same thing; as well as radio stations….they attack the individual…..when was the last time we heard anything about the state of unemployment or the progress of education……they country is being crippled by so called “party supporters”, whether UWP,DLP or DFP and anybody that think that the ruling party getting a landslide victory is a good thing just proves my poing…….think of the possibilities of a government without a strong opposition….scary.
this is a very good conclusion on the election matter. with no regrets the three blind mice statement is wonderful. true to this day where is the leadership of the uwp?they never made constructive remarks to any issue but just allowed those on q95 to speak for them. by the way am still wating to hear something from honorable mr edison james
Pretty much agree with most of the stuff in this article for real. UWP run a campaign on attack Skerrit, but then Skerrit has done a lot of good for many people in D/a. When u hav a bunch of people who couldn’t afford to pay transportation to send their kids to school and Skerrit put in place free school buses, poor peeps who couldn’t send their kids to university and Skerrit help with scholarships or assistance, poor peeps who were able to obtain homes etc etc that’s a lot of grateful people out there for real. Grateful peeps would nvr align themselves with that campaign of hate the UWP was on.
No one can deny the tangible signs of development under Skerrit, the stadium, upgraded airport, upgraded roads and bridges and general infrastructure. That’s the things people cared about not unproven allegations. I really wondered how Lennox Linton et al felt on election nite.
Most people in D/a believe that Skerrit is a competent PM (he is) and Ron Green gave no indication that he could be a better PM so workers really never had a chance.
well said Mr. Peters. The UWP failed to realize that our people are no longer ignorant as they thought. Thanks to the DLP more of our young people can pursue a higher level of education and these lame tactics of the opposition party are no longer effective. Throughout the elections they sought to bash the ruling party but failed to present themselves as a better alternative thereby instilling in the minds of the people that they were either just as unsuitable or perhaps even worse. The results of this past election are a true indication of our Dominican people being educated and thinking outside the box.
I Must say that this is one of the most intresting articles i have ever read on dno i totally agree with what is said in this article.This writer has a clear understanding of what took place in or pass election. i give this article 10 out of 10
yes mr peters,,,, i was reading with interest,,, yes i was but when i arrived on this part,,and i quote “First, there were the three blind mice on the radio who called themselves journalist” i just not read further because your research though could be accurate was too partisan for me,,,,, please when writing be unbiased n non-partisan,,,,,,,, then u’ll get all sides to listen to or read from you,,,,,,,
Finally, a good post election analysis. I have been arguing basically the same points a day after the election on this website (under a different name) and elsewhere.
I am awaiting the firestorm of posting on this one and I am sure some contributors going to say this is pure crap.