House of Assembly of Dominica

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 an ex-officio member. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-second member when 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 opposition leader. There is one ex-officio member and the remaining seat is held by the Speaker.

Alix Boyd Knights is the current Speaker of the House of Assembly, and was elected from outside the membership of the House. First elected on April 17, 2000, Knights is the longest to serve in that position.

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.