Dominica?s main political party has chosen the youthful Education Minister to be the country?s new leader after the death of Prime Minister Pierre Charles...
Dominica?s main political party has chosen the youthful Education Minister to be the country?s new leader after the death of Prime Minister Pierre Charles.
Education, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was given the nod by his party members one day after Charles? death.
However, since Dominica is governed by a coalition government, of which the Dominica Labour Party is the governing party with ten of the House of Assembly?s 21 seats, Skerrit is yet to be approved.
Editor of the Dominica Sun, Charles James, said yesterday that Minister of Tourism and Enterprise Development Charles Savarin was ?having problems? with the choice of the next prime minister.
Savarin is also political leader of the Dominica Freedom Party.
?No one knows what Mr Savarin wants,? James said in a telephone interview.
?In the House he does not sit with the coalition government, he does not sit with the Freedom Party. He sits apart from everyone.
?We have spoken with Mr Skerrit and he said he does not know what Mr Savarin wants.?
James said Independent Frederick Baron had already given Skerrit his approval.
The chosen successor would be presented to ceremonial president Nicholas Liverpool for appointment.
If appointed to the post as prime minister, Skerrit, a former schoolteacher, would become the island?s youngest prime minister since its independence from British rule in 1978.
Leaders of the DLP made their choice after meeting behind closed doors for almost four hours.
Reports from Dominica yesterday indicated the late PM, who was 49, died of a heart attack on Tuesday night after leaving a Cabinet meeting.
An autopsy is expected to be performed today.
Charles had a history of heart problems and underwent angioplasty in T&T last February after complaining of chest pains while attending a Caricom summit in Port-of-Spain.
The procedure was repeated in Atlanta, US, in August.
Because of concerns over his health, some politicians, including several in his own party, recently called on Charles to step down.
The late PM had taken a three-week leave of absence on his doctor?s advice. He had returned to work in mid-December.
Charles is survived by his wife, with whom he had two children, and a son from a previous relationship.
About Pierre Charles
Pierre Charles was born on June 30, 1954, in the village of Grand Bay in southern Dominica and first worked as a schoolteacher.
He was elected to Parliament in 1985 and appointed Prime Minister in 2000 after predecessor Roosevelt Douglas died of a heart attack.
The country?s longest-serving legislator, Charles began as part of the Opposition and criticised the 1983 US invasion of nearby Grenada, which was supported by Dominica?s leader at the time, Prime Minister Dame Eugenia Charles.
Recently, the Prime Minister was critical of the United States when its troops invaded Afghanistan, accused them of killing innocents as he urged a halt to the conflict.
He also called on the United States to lift its trade embargo against Cuba. One of his first acts as prime minister was to establish diplomatic ties with Libya.
At home, Charles defended recent austerity measures as necessary to improve the economy of one of the Caribbean?s poorest countries.
Last year?s budget cut public spending by 15 per cent and introduced new taxes ? measures that were unpopular with many workers and led to strikes in the former British colony.
Source: Associated Press
