Posted on 05/05/2005 11:29:16 PM PDT by Wiz
ROSEAU, Dominica - Dominica's governing party won a narrow victory in parliamentary elections Thursday, according to unofficial results, apparently convincing voters of the need for an austerity program and a switch in diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Labor Party won 11 of 21 Parliament seats, an increase of one seat, according to results from the electoral office. It was not clear when the results would be declared final.
The victory came at the expense of the United Workers Party of Edison James, which held eight seats in the outgoing legislature and had made a strong bid to retake the power it lost five years ago.
Police reported a high turnout and no violence at the 255 polling stations in the former British Caribbean colony of 70,000 people.
"We have it tied up!" Skerrit said, claiming victory hours before polls closed.
Final days of the campaign were heated, with Skerrit's party accusing James' of receiving campaign funds from Taiwan in return for a promise to sever new links with Beijing.
James denied such a pledge but refused to say if his party got money from China.
The premier defended an IMF austerity initiative that James had argued was not creating sustainable jobs or tangible benefits for ordinary islanders.
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