Residents of the Roseau North Constituency will go to the polls on Monday, September 7, 2026, to choose a new Parliamentary Representative following the resignation of Hon. Miriam Blanchard on June 12.
The three candidates are United Workers Party (UWP) Daniel Lugay, Dominica Labour Party (DLP) Ashma McDougall and independent candidate Sherman Boston. Nomination Day was August 21.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has urged eligible electors to participate in the by-election and maintain a peaceful, orderly and issue-based campaign. He said the constitutional process gives Roseau North residents the opportunity to elect a representative to serve their interests in Parliament and continue the work of national development.
The candidates have placed different priorities before voters.
Lugay, endorsed by both the Dominica Freedom Party and the United Progressive Party, has focused on economic development, environmental concerns, healthcare, and waste management. His proposals include establishing a commercial hub stretching from the Public Works property to the Dominica Banana Marketing Corporation building, incorporating the DEXIA warehouse and home industry sites.
He has also identified the Fond Cole landfill as a major health concern, citing longstanding complaints about smoke and fumes, and has committed to relocating it to a safer site. Better garbage collection, hospital services, working conditions for healthcare professionals, and access to medical supplies and equipment are also among his stated priorities.
McDougall has concentrated on community-level improvements, particularly in Gutter. Her priorities include upgrading footpaths and access routes, improving drainage and runoff management, strengthening sanitation and waste collection, and enhancing the community facility for children, young people and residents seeking training.
“We need to improve the footpaths and access routes through this village and we have already started collaborating with the Gutter Improvement Committee,” she said. “We have to examine the steps and handrails so that our elderly residents and children can move more safely throughout the community.”
She has also highlighted housing and pledged to maintain what she described as an open and realistic relationship with constituents.
Boston has centred his campaign on unity, employment and practical community development. His platform includes strengthening the middle class, achieving 70 per cent local employment in key areas, expanding skills and trades training, supporting local businesses and using education and remedial programmes to address brain drain.
For Roseau North, Boston has identified unemployment, roads and connectivity, recreational spaces, land access and the Stock Farm landfill as priorities. He has also called for better access to homes in communities including Stock Farm, Yampiece, Gutter, Tarish Pit and Fond Cole.
“I was asked to return to the ruling Labour Party as the prodigal son. I refused,” stated Boston.
Boston, who served for a decade on the Roseau City Council, has also pointed to his experience representing Ward 4 and his work with residents following Hurricane Maria and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the broader political climate, he said his main message was the need for greater unity and an end to political tribalism, arguing that Dominica’s challenges require people to work together.
As voting day approaches, the Electoral Office has made a change to polling arrangements in District N09, which covers Gutter Village, Tarish Pit and sections of Goodwill. The number of polling stations there has been increased from four to five following a review of the number of electors assigned to the stations, with the additional station intended to help reduce congestion and make voting more efficient.
All five stations will be located at Goodwill Primary School, with voters assigned according to surname: A–C, D–G, H–L, M–R and S–Z.
The Electoral Office has been distributing Voter Identification Cards to eligible electors ahead of the Roseau North by-election. However, voters who do not have a card can still cast their ballot by presenting an approved form of identification.
Accepted alternatives include a valid Dominican passport, a Dominican driver’s licence or Social Security card accompanied by a valid birth certificate, or a passport-sized photograph certified by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public, together with a valid Dominican birth certificate.
The Electoral Office is reminding voters that they must vote at their officially assigned polling station.
