The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has raised critical issues about Dominica’s ongoing electoral reform course of, urging the federal government to uphold the democratic rules enshrined within the American Conference on Human Rights and the Inter-American Democratic Constitution.
The Fee, which has been monitoring Dominica’s reform efforts since 2018, acknowledged the federal government’s current legislative push to modernize electoral procedures. Nevertheless, it warned that key components to make sure transparency and safeguard political rights—notably concerning marketing campaign financing and the independence of electoral establishments—stay absent.
In Might 2024, Dominica’s authorities launched three main legislative proposals: the Registration of Electors Invoice, the Home of Meeting Elections Invoice, and the Electoral Fee Invoice. These payments had been designed to sort out quite a lot of electoral points, together with voter identification, residency necessities, bribery and treating, and annual voter record opinions. Additionally they contained provisions for equal entry to state media.
Regardless of claims by the federal government that the laws adopted broad consultations with opposition events, civil society, the Bar Affiliation, spiritual leaders, and the media, the IACHR famous vital omissions. The Fee highlighted that the legal guidelines fail to adequately deal with marketing campaign finance rules and unbiased oversight of the Electoral Fee, each longstanding issues raised by civil society and worldwide observers.
Tensions got here to a head on March 19, 2025, when the Home of Meeting handed the payments. The move sparked widespread protests in the capital, resulting in a forceful response by state safety forces. In response to the IACHR, legislation enforcement used tear gasoline, rubber bullets, and bodily pressure towards demonstrators, a few of whom had gathered with out official “permission” outdoors Parliament. Since then, at the very least 24 people have reportedly been arrested—together with opposition leaders, legal professionals, and human rights defenders. One individual stays in custody at Dominica State Jail.
– Commercial –
The IACHR emphasised that peaceable protest is a cornerstone of democratic societies, and any restrictions positioned on such gatherings should be authorized, obligatory, and proportionate. “States have an obligation to safeguard the rights of people participating in protests, to guard their bodily integrity, and guarantee unhindered entry to the press,” the Fee said.
The Fee additional urged the Dominican authorities to finish the criminalization of protest and interact in real dialogue with stakeholders to deal with unresolved issues. It known as for larger transparency and accountability, particularly in regards to the controversial financing of voter transportation from overseas—a problem flagged in earlier electoral commentary missions.
Reaffirming that citizen participation is prime to any democracy, the IACHR reminded the federal government that electoral reform should transcend the passage of legal guidelines to embody the spirit of common suffrage, equality, and accessibility.
