Dominica’s Opposition Leader calls for revocation of senator’s appointment

(CMC) – The Leader of Dominica’s main opposition party, Jesma Paul Victor, has called on President Sylvanie Burton to revoke the appointment of Sean Douglas as a senator with immediate effect.

In a statement, the Opposition Leader, who was responsible for the senatorial appointment of Douglas earlier this year, said the decision was a difficult one for her.

She added that, it came after weeks of “careful consideration of the importance of protecting the dignity and credibility of our democratic governance processes from individual excesses.

“I deeply regret this course of action which became necessary because of a significant breach of trust, callus disregard for the principle of collective responsibility in the Parliamentary Opposition, and a refusal to be responsible for unilateral actions that undermine the work of the team.”

The Opposition Leader said this conflicts with the values that are essential to the “effective discharge of our oversight and representational responsibilities in Parliament.”

“Further, this severally frustrates upholding integrity, ethical conduct, and the commitment to the highest standards of national service that we strive to honour and uphold at all times.”

She also pointed to reports of verbal abuse “directed at me, the calls for my resignation, the double standards, and the misogynistic disrespect for my decision that have flooded the airwaves and social media in recent times.”

Last week Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit condemned the “vicious attacks” against the Opposition Leader by callers on a local radio station after her decision to revoke Senator Sean Douglas’s appointment as an opposition member of parliament.