Prime minister elect, Roosevelt Skerrit, has reached out to the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) following its defeat at the poll, saying now is the time to join hands to build Dominica.
“I am extending publicly an olive branch to the UWP to join hands with us to build this country,” he said at a victory rally of his Dominica Labour Party (DLP) on Monday night in Portsmouth.
Preliminary results from the general election held on Monday indicate that the DLP captured 15 seats in parliament and the UWP grabbing six.
Skerrit told supporters that now the election is over, it is time to put aside all negativism.
“Now is the time to close ranks as a people, now is the time to put any negativism aside, now is the time to embrace each other as brothers and sisters, as Dominicans,” he stated.
He said the campaign was a vigorous one.
“We fought a very keen campaign, it was a rigorous campaign, the Labour Party became victorious and the United Workers Party lost the election,” he stated. “So we need to join hands and work together to build Dominica. Dominica is going to require the commitment, the dedication to service of every single one of us. We have to heal the nation.”
Skerrit said elections normally create divisions in society but the Labour Party must extend the hand because it is a “party of love.”
“We are a party of affection, we are a party of forgiveness, so let us embrace everybody,” he noted.
He stated that despite the anger created by the election, the result must be accepted because “the people have spoken and the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
“The good Lord has decided who he wants to be the leader of this country, which party he wants to lead Dominica for another five years and therefore we have to respect the will of the people,” Skerrit said.