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ROSEAU, Dominica, May 9 2016 – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has named June 7 as the date for the by-election to fill the seat in the Soufriere constituency after former public workers and ports minister Ian Pinard resigned.
In a brief statement, Skerrit said that nomination day will be on May 20 and that he had advised President Charles Savarin to issue the writs for the by-election.
Pinard, a member of the ruling Dominica Labour Party resigned the seat less than a month after he resigned his cabinet post in the wake of allegations made against him of “serious inappropriate behaviour”.
Last month, Pinard said that the allegations were made “against me in the media and elsewhere in relation to matters which the public rightly is and has been most concerned about.
“I believe I have a moral and fiduciary responsibility to you to address you on this matter,” Pinard said in his brief statement.
There have been widespread allegations here of inappropriate behaviour involving some high-ranking members of society and a minor, and the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) issued a statement condemning sexual assault and abuse of children here.
Police later confirmed that they had carried out investigations into the matter in an effort “to quell public anxiety” and “protect the interest of innocent citizens”.
