Labour Wins By‑Election in Landslide
Dominica’s ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) has captured the Roseau North parliamentary seat after a decisive by‑election victory on Monday, September 7, 2026. DLP candidate Ashma McDougall secured 1,506 votes, defeating United Workers Party (UWP) standard‑bearer Daniel “Danny” Lugay, who received 983 votes, while independent candidate Sherman “Donty” Boston drew 50 votes.
McDougall’s 433‑vote margin ends weeks of intense campaigning in the constituency and makes her the new Parliamentary Representative for Roseau North, with a seat in the House of Assembly. The result was foreshadowed days earlier by an Only‑Polls online survey of Roseau North voters that showed roughly two‑thirds of respondents favouring the DLP over the UWP.
Roseau North had long been considered a UWP stronghold. Lugay himself held the seat for two consecutive terms, first winning in 2014 and retaining it in 2019 with 56.57% of the vote, before losing to the DLP’s Miriam Blanchard in 2022. Monday’s loss marks the second time the UWP has been ousted from Roseau North, capping a period in which the party held the constituency for eight years (2014–2022) but has been unable to reclaim it since.
The setback is especially significant for the UWP because the by‑election was its only realistic path back into Parliament. The party has had no elected representatives since boycotting the 2022 general election, meaning it has now gone four consecutive years without a single seat in the House of Assembly. Its parliamentary presence has been shrinking over successive elections: from six seats in 2014, to three in 2019, to zero after 2022.
Commentary around the result has highlighted growing voter impatience with what some describe as an opposition focus on attacking the government rather than presenting detailed alternative policies. Businessman Gregor Nassief, a frequent critic of Prime Minister Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit and of major government projects, has increasingly aligned with UWP‑aligned voices, but that association has not translated into electoral success in Roseau North. Critics argue that figures like Nassief and the UWP have emphasized controversy over concrete development plans, a message that appears to have failed to resonate with enough voters in the constituency.
For the DLP, the victory consolidates its control of Roseau North and adds a high‑profile win to its record as it continues to implement its policy agenda. For the UWP, the loss underscores a deeper organizational and strategic challenge: after years of declining representation and a complete absence from Parliament since 2022, the party now faces renewed questions about its leadership, candidate selection, and policy platform.
With McDougall set to take her seat in the House of Assembly, attention in Dominica is likely to shift quickly to how the new member will engage with constituency issues in Roseau North and how the opposition attempts to rebuild after another electoral defeat
