🔴 LIVE | UWP-Team Dominica Press conference 23rd July 2026 Declaring of New Candidates.

Overview

The video is a United Workers Party (UWP) press conference in Dominica (23 July 2026) announcing new parliamentary candidates and outlining the party’s critique of the incumbent Labor government. It also includes pledges for major constituency-level and national reforms.

Main arguments and commentary

1) UWP’s central claim: the government created a culture of dependence and neglect

UWP speakers argue the government has promoted “begging” and dismantled people’s dignity by failing to create real opportunities.

• Dr. Thompson Fontaine frames the key national problem as economic failure and says UWP has “solutions,” led by Fontaine and the new team.

2) Criticism of infrastructure delays and lack of planning (Wesley constituency focus)

A candidate speaking about Wesley and Woodford alleges:

• Schools were destroyed and/or not repaired despite major projects (including claims tied to the international airport project, with land acquisition beginning in 2019).
• The West constituency received inadequate planning around airport-related disruption, including claims that officials were unaware of the school situation.
• Sport and student facilities were vandalized or broken, leaving youth without basic resources.

The speaker promises:

• Rebuilding/repairing the school in Wesley so Wesley children can attend locally without relying on buses (summarized as: “it takes a village to reach a child”).
• Creating a tourist resort area at Woodford Beach to generate livelihoods and jobs.
• Urging voters to remove the current government, arguing that even “$2 billion”-scale undertakings have not improved community conditions.

3) Candidate platform: “Teacher Ernie” (Castries/Kaboo’s constituency—spelling inconsistent)

Teacher Ernie presents her campaign as a “new chapter” after prior political challenges (including an alleged stolen victory in 2019).

Key pledges include:

• Completing long-stalled infrastructure: police station works and additional classrooms at Casper Secondary School.
• Fixing/repairing compromised roads, including:
  • A road to/near Kalin/Kalis Bridge
  • Hurricane-damaged sections
• Addressing relocation promises: she claims families were promised relocation after a trough (subtitled references to late Aug / Aug 26 and September), but that “not a stone has been placed.”
• Installing guardrails on dangerous roads for driver/pedestrian safety.
• Completing link roads and upgrading a “secret park” into a “minister stadium” for regional events and sports.

She emphasizes education and agriculture:

• Education: investment in modern infrastructure, technology integration, and teacher/student training.
• Agriculture: she criticizes claims (paraphrased from officials) that fertilizer distribution is limited to certain political groups, arguing it should be handled by extension officers based on farmers’ actual needs.

4) Candidate platform: Martha Augustus (Rosa South)

Martha Augustus accepts nomination as UWP’s Rosa South candidate, grounding her pitch in her healthcare background as a pharmacist and healthcare provider.

Her main points:

• She says she has witnessed hardship directly: sickness, poverty, joblessness, youth drug harm, and lack of a trusted voice for advocacy in Rosa South.
• She frames her candidacy around compassion and service beyond dispensing medication—emphasizing listening and taking action.
• Health and social needs are central: she advocates well-equipped medical centers, professional staffing, and a national health insurance program.
• Broader commitments include better education for children, dignity/support for seniors, safe and clean communities, and opportunities for entrepreneurs.
• She repeatedly calls on young people to register (“confirm”) once 18 and vote, positioning it as a responsibility to save the country.
• She emphasizes integrity, accountability, and transparency, inviting even non-UWP supporters to work with her.

5) UWP leader Dr. Thompson Fontaine’s strategy and election framing

Fontaine:

• Praises the blend of “youth, experience, competence” among candidates and highlights community service histories (including Wesley, Castries-area villages, and Rosa South).
• Introduces national health insurance as a defining reform, arguing current healthcare is poor and that official “insurance” claims do not match affordability for most people.
• Criticizes the incumbent government for allegedly neglecting older citizens (including a cited example: denial of a $300 benefit to non-supporters).
• Attacks the lack of opportunities for youth and argues Dominica is suffering economically due to government failure.
• Claims UWP candidates are “not bought,” contrasting them with alleged vote-buying and patronage (e.g., fertilizer given only to supporters).
• Predicts a “blue wave” and frames the election as a break after 27 years of Labor Party rule.

6) Media Q&A: competitiveness in Rosa South and campaign integrity

Questions to Martha Augustus (Rosa South)

• She is asked how she will win in a constituency described as competitive with multiple candidates. She responds she’s confident because Rosa South “has not been done in 26 years”, emphasizing working on the ground listening to concerns rather than transactional campaigning.
• Asked about “money politics” and how she will deal with drug/addiction-linked poverty that may make people accept campaign money, she argues she will offer hope and empowerment (“renewing the mind”) rather than handouts.
• She suggests renaming “Montego Bay” to something more prosperity-oriented to shift mentality—framed as psychological/identity change.

Questions to Dr. Fontaine

• He addresses concerns that other parties are placing candidates where UWP is strong, stating multiparty democracies allow candidate selection, while UWP seeks unity in opposition at a national level to maximize winning chances.
• On whether UWP will field 21 candidates, he says the party intends to field 21 but cannot reveal detailed strategy for emerging situations yet, noting they will decide constituency-by-constituency on best options.

Key outcomes of the press conference

• UWP officially presented/confirmed new candidates for:
  • Wesley (announced by speaker; a specific name like Jean Franis is mentioned in subtitles)
  • Cas constituency (Teacher Ernie)
  • Rosa South (Martha Augustus)
• Dr. Thompson Fontaine reinforced UWP’s main reform themes:
  • Economy/jobs
  • Health transformation via national health insurance
  • Youth opportunity
  • Ending patronage-based governance
• The event emphasized voter mobilization, particularly:
  • Youth registration (“turn 18, go and register”)
  • Turnout for a change government

Presenters / contributors (as mentioned in the subtitles)

• Dr. Thompson Fontaine (UWP political leader / party leader)
• Jean Franis (mentioned as a candidate/representative for Wesley)
• Teacher Ernie (UWP candidate for the Cas constituency; spelling inconsistent in subtitles)
• Martha Augustus (UWP candidate for Rosa South)
• Danny Lug (mentioned as candidate for Ros(a) North; spelling inconsistently)
• “Sparks” (mentioned as candidate for Salisbury; exact full name not provided in subtitles)
• Curtis Matthew (mentioned by name during Fontaine’s remarks; constituency not clearly identified in subtitles)
• Emma News (source/broadcaster of the live/recording)
• Mr. Mark Py (media questioner in the Q&A)