Since the voter confirmation process in Dominica started on October 15, 2025, only 700 voters out of 9,000 applicants have been confirmed. That works out to 10 confirmations per day, which, over only an 8-hour workday, is barely 1.25 voters per hour. At this pace, even if no new applicants register, it will take over 3 years to confirm all 9,000 voters. This is not progress; it is a deliberate crawl.
At this point, Dominicans are left to wonder whether this level of delay is accidental or intentional. When a voter confirmation process moves at a pace so slow, that it would take years to complete, it is reasonable to question whether the Chief Elections Officer, Anthea Joseph, is allowing, or enabling conditions that benefit the continued use of an outdated voters list.
That concern matters because an outdated list has historically favoured Roosevelt Skerrit, allowing elections to be conducted without a fully verified and current electorate. Whether by incompetence, indifference, or design, the effect is the same: eligible voters are delayed or excluded, while the status quo is preserved.
This is not an accusation – it is an indictment of failure, silence, and contempt for democratic accountability. In a functioning democracy, electoral officials are not only required to be impartial; they are required to demonstrate that impartiality through transparent action, clear communication, and reasonable timelines.
What we are witnessing instead is an unexplained, unjustifiable delay overseen by the Chief Elections Officer, Anthea Joseph, with no coherent public explanation, no credible timeline, and no respect shown to the electorate’s right to understand what is being done in their name. Countries with populations in the tens and even hundreds of millions complete comparable electoral processes within six months. Dominica cannot. That is not a logistical problem – it is a leadership problem.
When an electoral authority refuses to explain delays, ignores reasonable public concern, and operates behind silence, it does not merely invite suspicion – it creates it. At this point, the issue is no longer patience. It is competence, credibility, and motive. The continued absence of clarity from Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph is not neutral. It actively undermines public confidence in the electoral system and damages the integrity of democracy itself. Silence in this role is not professionalism – it is dereliction. The public is owed answers. Not eventually. Not selectively. Now!
The people of Dominica deserve a voter confirmation process that moves efficiently, transparently and fairly, not one that drags on for years while the clock ticks on upcoming elections. When an electoral process moves this slowly during a reform period that is supposed to clean up the voters list, it stops looking like inefficiency and starts looking like strategy. Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph must explain why it takes so long to confirm voters. That simple talking points and vague explanations are no longer tolerated.
A properly purged voters list would dramatically reduce the influence and illegal overseas voting, and that fundamentally changes our election outcomes in Dominica. That is not speculation. That is political reality. Yet under Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph’s watch, the process drags on month after month, normalizing delay as steady progress. The public has every right to ask, ” Who benefits from this slow pace?” The answer is uncomfortable but obvious, Roosevelt Skerrit!
A clean, resident-based voters list would expose the truth that this government already knows: it cannot win the support of our people who live here full-time without outside influence. Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph is in a position to ensure fairness, yet these unexplained delays continue.
We have seen this pattern before. Before Independence Day celebrations, the streets were cleaned, abandoned vehicles removed, and garbage cleared, not because the problem was solved, but because visitors were watching. As soon as they left, Dominica returned to the same neglect. Appearance over substance. Optics over reality. Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph oversees an electoral process that seems to follow the same playbook.
The Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph insists nothing is wrong, yet the numbers tell a different story. Delays that consistently protect Roosevelt Skerrit and his government are not neutral. Dragging one’s feet under Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph’s leadership is not impartiality; it is political convenience. No secret meetings are necessary. All it takes is delay, silence and lowered expectations. That alone will tilt democracy without ever touching a ballot box. And while this process stalls, Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph is publicly praised with awards, as if credibility can replace accountability. That should trouble every Dominican who cares about fair elections.
We should nor accept nothing short of clear, logical, and verifiable evidence explaining these delays. Vague assurances and hollow statements do not meet the standard of democratic accountability. Accountability is not optional, and it is not discretionary. Any public claim by Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph that the voter confirmation process is “running smoothly” is demonstrably false. It is a statement that directly contradicts observable reality and functions only to mislead the public and suppress legitimate concern.
The facts are undeniable: the process is moving at an unacceptably slow pace, with no transparent benchmarks, no credible timelines, and no meaningful public reporting. This is not smooth operation, it is administrative failure and cover up..
More troubling still is the complete absence of consequences. This government has provided no oversight, no corrective action, and no accountability for the Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph’s repeated failures. Silence from those in power is not neutrality; it is protection. When electoral mismanagement is excused, minimized, or ignored by the very authorities tasked with safeguarding democracy, the integrity of the entire system is called into question. The burden of explanation lies with Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph and with the government that continues to shield her from scrutiny.
It is obvious that Roosevelt Skerrit and his government benefited from this delay by calling an election immediately after Carnival, exploiting the slow confirmation process to their advantage. Claims of efficiency or smooth operations are therefore false and misleading, and the people deserve better transparency and accountability.
And what us even more disturbing is the continued coordinated silence surrounding this failure. Local media, whose duty is to inform the public and hold power to account, have largely refused to confront this issue with any seriousness or persistence. This is not a minor oversight – it is a dereliction of journalistic responsibility. When the integrity of an electoral process is in question, silence is not neutrality; it is complicity. Ask yourself why? And who really controls the media in Dominica?
The same cowardice is evident among political party leaders across the spectrum. Their reluctance to speak plainly or apply pressure is not strategic restraint, it is fear. Fear of retaliation, fear of exclusion, fear of upsetting a system they have learned to accommodate rather than challenge.
I am not playing that game. I am calling her name directly because accountability demands it. Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph and the failures of this process fall squarely at her feet. No amount of silence from the media, and no amount of avoidance by political leaders, will change that fact. If those entrusted with power refuse to ask the hard questions, then the public must. I will not whisper. I will not defer. And I will not pretend that this dysfunction is normal. Accountability begins by naming the person responsible Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph and demanding answers without fear.
When I become our country’s 2nd female Prime Minister, this wil end and and Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph will be removed from her position on my first day. National leadership must be chosen by those who live with the country every day. And any interference, whether by individuals or institutions like the Chief Elections Officer Anthea Joseph, will carry consequences. Democracy is not a souvenir flown in at election time. Dominicans deserve answers. And they deserve an electoral system that serves voters, not political advantage.
- I am watching.
- I am asking questions.
- I no longer accepting delay as coincidence.
