The ' Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica.

The current Leader of the Opposition is Jesma Paul, an independent candidate of the Salisbury constituency, who was sworn in on December 20 2022. The position was previously held by Lennox Linton.


Provision

Chapter IV Section 66 of The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica states:

1. There shall be a Leader of the Opposition who shall be appointed by the President.

2. Whenever there is occasion for the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition the President shall appoint the elected member of the House who appears to him most likely to command the support of a majority of the elected members of the House who do not support the Government: or, if no elected member of the House appears to him to command such support, the elected member of the House who appears to him to command the support of the largest single group of members of the House who do not support the Government:

Provided that if a member of the House was elected at a general election in which he stood as a supporter of a political party and the majority of members of the House elected at that time (whether as Representatives or Senators) stood as supporters of that party, he shall, so long as he remains a member of the House by virtue of that election, not be eligible for appointment as Leader of the Opposition.

The House of Assembly did not have a Leader of the Opposition in early 2010, following the results of the 2009 general election. The leader of the opposition United Workers' Party, Ronald Green, lost his seat, and the three UWP Representatives elected boycotted the House of Assembly.[1] This ended with the swearing in of Hector John as Leader of the Opposition on 19 July 2010.

List of leaders of the opposition

LeaderPartyStartEnd
Anthony MoiseDFP1970April 1975
Eugenia Charles[2]DFPApril 1975July 1979
Matthew Joseph[3]DDLP19801985
Michael Douglas[4]DLP19851990
Edison JamesUWP1 June 199014 June 1995
Brian AlleyneDFP19951996
Rosie DouglasDLP19963 February 2000
Edison JamesUWP3 February 200016 July 2007
Earl WilliamsUWP16 July 200730 July 2008
Ronald GreenUWP8 August 20083 February 2010
Hector JohnUWP19 July 20108 December 2014
Lennox LintonUWP8 December 20147 November 2022
Jesma Paul-VictorIndependent20 December 2022-

References

  1. ↑ Commonwealth of Dominica (11 February 2010), President emphasises the importance of a Leader of the Opposition, retrieved 19 April 2010.
  2. ↑ Honychurch, Lennox. "Dame Mary Eugenia Charles: the first woman Prime Minister". dominicanewsonline.com/. Dominica News Online.
  3. ↑ "Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs". University of West Indies. 1985.
  4. ↑ Honychurch, Lennox (1995). The Dominica Story: A History of the Island. Macmillan Education Ltd. ISBN 9780333627761.


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