Roosevelt Skerrit has been returned as Prime Minister of Dominica for a fifth successive term.

Preliminary data from the Dominica Electoral Office shows the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won 19 of the 21 seats in the House of Assembly following Tuesday’s General Election.

This was one more than the DLP won in 2019.

Over 81,000 people were eligible to vote in the election.

History was created as two independent candidates — Anthony Charles and Jesma Paul— were elected to the parliament for the Marigot and Salisbury Constituencies. This is just the third time that independent candidates have been elected to the House of Assembly.

The election was boycotted by the United Workers Party (UWP) and Dominica Freedom Party on the grounds that the electoral process gave Skerrit and the DLP an unfair advantage. They have called for electoral reforms, which includes issuing of national identification cards and a cleansing of the voters list.

Skerrit has congratulated all the candidates.

“I want to extend congratulations to the two candidates who won in Marigot and Salisbury. It clearly shows that the elections were credible and that they were free and fair,” Skerrit said during an interview on the state-runDominica Broadcasting Corporation.

Skerrit said he plans to meet with Charles and Paul to hear their visions for the constituency as well as other opposition candidates to listen to views on how they can contribute to the national reset he plans to have following the election.

The prime minister also plans to extend an olive branch to the UWP leader Dr Thompson Fontaine to discuss a way forward to develop Dominica.

On the issue of electoral reform, Skerrit said by Easter 2023 legislation will be passed to establish the national identification cards as well as address concerns with the list of electors, which is severely bloated.

Consultations on the new electoral reform laws will begin next month.

The prime minister added he has written to the Commonwealth of Nations, Caribbean Community and Organisation of American States asking for them to review the electoral reforms recommended by former Caribbean Court of Justice President Sir Dennis Byron to ensure they meet international best practice.

“What I would say to the people of Dominica…the only caution I would put is that we should not be disenfranchising Dominicans living overseas from voting. I’m not suggesting that those who are not on the list, should get registered. Those who are currently on the list should be given an opportunity to be registered. The leader of the United Workers Party lived in the diaspora and he only returned a few weeks ago and now he’s the leader of the party,” Skerrit stated.