Appears The Energizer Bunny, Dominica PM Will Keep Running…
For sure. Dominica Prime Minister (PM) Roosevelt Skerrit is the Energizer Bunny of Dominica politics. He keeps going. He’s been PM for twenty years (2004-present) and counting!
So, on Sunday November 10, 2024, when Skerrit’s ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) gathered for its first delegates convention in a decade, going big with two sitting PMs—Phillip J. Pierre of Saint Lucia, and Dickon Mitchell of Grenada—among invited guests, the Dominica Opposition was on pins and needles. They expected either the bell ringing for a new general election or Skerrit updating plans to retire, which he had previously announced for April 2025.
Neither general election date nor retirement update came. However, PM Pierre playfully rang a literal bell without saying what for. Instead, Skerrit accepted his Party’s nomination, unopposed, to serve as DLP’s Political Leader for another term.
Meanwhile, Skerrit got himself a credible spare when DLP elected Dr. Irving McIntyre, the current Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for the Roseau Valley constituency to the Deputy Political Leader position. Ambrose George who lost his seat in Parliament in 2014 had been in the Deputy Political Leader job since then.
No doubt, succession was on the mind of the Energizer Bunny as the one-time Guinness youngest PM in the world pleaded with the youth, saying in his keynote address: “You are the future of the Party. We urge you to step forward. To take on leadership roles. We must ensure that the Party’s legacy and hard work continue to transform Dominica.”
Skerrit who became PM at age thirty-one, in 2004, is about to transform Dominica. Big time! After at least three starts by previous administrations, Dominica broke ground on the construction project for its first international airport, arguably the biggest collective aspiration of the people of Dominica.
What it all means for the Opposition United Workers Party that has been waiting in the wings since 2000, but which now has zero seats in Parliament is crystal clear. They are going to be in the political wilderness for a while longer!
