Levi Peter urges UWP to reconsider election court challenge and take up Skerrit on electoral reform promise
Attorney General in the last DLP administration, Levi Peter has advised the United Workers Party (UWP) opposition United Workers Party to reexamine its plans to challenge the 2019 general elections in the courts.
Opposition Leader Lennox Linton announced recently that his party plans to file a petition, in the courts, challenging what it believes were voting irregularities during the 2019 General Elections in Dominica.
The Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won the general elections held on December 6, 2019, with an overwhelming majority of 18 seats out of 21 while the UWP secured the remaining 3.
The UWP has taken the position that the elections were not free and fair and has accused the DLP of bribing Dominicans who live in the diaspora, to return to the country to vote.
“What I would humbly suggest is that the opposition forces should be taking up the Prime Minister in the indication that he gave in his address on his swearing-in that he intended to engage with the leader of the opposition towards seeking to secure appropriate electoral reforms and other actions that would be to the benefit of Dominica…” Peter said during an interview on State-Owned Radio DBS. “If that fails then you may be more justified to take alternative measures.”
According to Peter, in the current circumstance where the DLP received such a victory, “to use all sorts of slurs innuendos, accusations and allegations against individuals and organizations, totally unsupported by any credible evidence, is not in the best interest of Dominica…”
He pointed out that the observer missions that were present in Dominica during the elections declared that the election reflects the will of the people, “and yes they have been accused of all sorts of improper actions.”
Peter said that the election results and the reports from the various missions gave Dominicans an opportunity in Dominica to turn a new leaf, “and if we do not change track, in particular, the opposition forces do not change track quite rapidly, it will be sadly an opportunity lost.”
