United Workers Party (UWP) leader Dr. Thomson Fontaine has called for a three-month extension of Dominica’s voter confirmation exercise, arguing that the country should resolve outstanding problems before proceeding to another general election.
Dr. Fontaine said the reform process was intended to improve the integrity of the voters’ list while protecting eligible citizens, but administrative difficulties had put that objective at risk.
“When we pushed for electoral reform and for the cleansing of the list, it was not to disenfranchise a single voter,” he said.
Speaking during the joint electoral reform press conference this week, Fontaine cited a confirmation figure of roughly 25,400 and compared it with what he described as more than 40,000 people who voted in 2019.
On that basis, he questioned whether the remaining days could accommodate a gap of more than 15,000 people if all previous voters were to participate again.
The figures were estimates cited at the conference, rather than a verified count of eligible electors still awaiting confirmation.
Dr. Fontaine nevertheless argued that the difficulties facing elderly residents, people with disabilities and citizens unable to reach confirmation centres required an extension.
“Our reaction would be: get the process right before any election is called in this country,” he stated. “Let’s get the process right.”
The UWP leader maintained that the Electoral Commission should publicly acknowledge any lack of readiness and seek additional time to complete the exercise properly.
He added that citizens living in Dominica should not find themselves unable to vote because they could not travel to a centre or meet documentary demands in time.
Dr. Fontaine also urged the public to treat voting access as a national concern rather than a party issue, appealing to people of different political affiliations to defend fair participation.
He called on the Commission to facilitate the proposed three-month extension while continuing to encourage voters to complete confirmation.
