House of Assembly of Dominica

The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine senators, and the Attorney General as an ex officio member. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-second member if chosen from outside the membership of the House. Representatives are directly elected in single-member constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. The Representatives in turn decide whether the senators are to be elected by their vote, or appointed. If appointed, five are chosen by the president with the advice of the Prime Minister and four with the advice of the Leader of the Opposition. The current Senators are appointed. The Cabinet of Dominica is appointed from members of the House of Assembly. However, no more than three senators may be members of the Cabinet. House of Assembly was established in 1968, and it was preceded by a colonial Legislative council. Since the election held on 6 December 2022, the Dominica Labour Party holds 19 of the 21 directly elected seats, and independent candidates hold two elected seats. The new House of Assembly included a record ten women.