Independent candidate Sherman Boston has accused the Electoral Office of poor organisation during the Roseau North by-election, saying the shortcomings left voters confused and, in some cases, unable to cast a ballot.
Speaking to investigative journalist Richie Ferrol on September 8, 2026, Boston said the problems were not isolated to polling day but reflected weaknesses in how the electoral process was administered from the outset.
He argued that the confusion reported across the constituency amounted to disenfranchisement, with electors arriving at polling stations only to find their names missing or their arrangements unclear.
Boston, who contested Roseau North as an independent, said the responsibility for the disorganisation rests with the Electoral Office rather than with the voters themselves. He described a process that failed to provide the clarity and order citizens are entitled to expect in a national exercise.
The by-election in Roseau North drew attention across the island, with the constituency at the centre of the capital and its outcome watched closely. Boston's intervention adds a dissenting voice to the post-election discussion, at a time when public confidence in the machinery of elections is a matter of legitimate concern.
His remarks also raise questions about the preparation and staffing of polling stations, the accuracy of the electoral register, and the information given to electors in the days before they voted. Boston did not confine his criticism to any single incident, presenting the problems instead as a pattern of disorganisation.
Under Dominica's electoral arrangements, the Electoral Office is responsible for the conduct of elections and by-elections, including the maintenance of the register and the administration of polling day. Any perception that those duties were not discharged properly is significant in a small society where every vote carries weight.
Boston's decision to speak publicly places the administration of the by-election back in the public eye. It also gives residents of Roseau North an opportunity to weigh his account against their own experience at the polls.
He stopped short of announcing any formal challenge to the result, framing his complaint as a matter of accountability rather than a legal claim. The emphasis was on what he sees as a failure of organisation and the effect that failure had on ordinary voters.
For the Electoral Office, the criticism is a reminder that public trust depends on visible competence. In a constituency as central as Roseau North, the handling of a by-election is scrutinised not only by the candidates but by the wider public.
Boston's comments are likely to feed into broader discussion about how future elections are run and what safeguards are needed to ensure that no elector is turned away through administrative error. He has not indicated what further steps, if any, he intends to take.
