General elections were held in Dominica on 26 October 1970 for the 11 elected seats in the House of Assembly using a first-past-the-post system.

Electoral System

The unicameral Parliament of Dominica, the Legislative Council, was composed of 11 elected Representatives, in single-member constituencies through a first-past-the-post system.

Background

Shortly before the last general elections, disagreements within the DLP resulted in an open split and the formation of two separate political factions, one led by  Edward O. LeBlanc (called LeBlanc LP) and the other headed by former Trade Minister N.A.N. Ducreay (which continued to use the name DLP).

Dissension in the DLP became public after LeBlanc dismissed three ministers - N.A.N. Ducreay, Minister for Trade, Wills Stevens, Minister for Education and Health, and Mrs. Mabel James, Minister for Home Affairs, for their part in an alleged coup to oust LeBlanc as the political leader of the DLP.

Political Parties & Candidates

Thirty-five candidates including two independents contested the election.  Three political parties – the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), and the LeBlanc Labour Party (LLP) –each presented full slates of 11 candidates for the election.

Election Campaign

The 1970 electoral campaign was observed to be one of the most bitterly fought in the country to that time.

Results

Edward LeBlanc was re-elected Premier after his faction of the Labour Party, the Leblanc Labour Party, won eight of the 11 seats in the House of Assembly.  The DFP, led by Barrister Miss Eugenia Charles, secured two seats and one seat went to the DLP.

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout was 81.6%.

Post-Election

Following the elections, Mr. LeBlanc was appointed Premier.
On 12 February 1971, the House of Assembly unanimously passed a bill reducing the voting age for the purpose of elections to the House from 21 to 18 years of age. A corresponding Constitution (Amendment) Order, 1971, was made on 30 April 1971 and came into operation on 1 July 1971.

In 1974, the combined pressures of high unemployment among the island's youth and increasingly aggressive activity by trade unions and opposition political parties led to the resignation of Leblanc as Premier and DLP leader and his replacement by Deputy Premier Patrick John on 28 July 1974.