ROSEAU, Dominica, Mar 19, CMC – Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors on Wednesday as Parliament began debating electoral reform legislation.
The police had earlier warned that no permission had been granted to anyone to stage and protest outside the Parliament building on the outskirts of the capital.
The Dominica government had late last year tabled the three bills, namely the Electoral Commission Bill 2024, House of Assembly (Elections) Bill 2024, and Registration of Electors Bill 2024, and Parliament was meeting Wednesday to give its approval to the legislation that had been reviewed by the relevant individuals and groups since Sir Dennis Byron, the former president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), submitted his report on electoral reform on June 12, 2023.
But the Electoral Reform Coalition said it would stage peaceful demonstration to register its disapproval over the bills that are expected to be passed given the government’s overwhelming majority.
(Details in Full News section)
CMC/2025