JG - MPs should declare citizenship status

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

MPs should declare citizenship status

published: Sunday May 18, 2008

Daryl Vaz, who continues to occupy the seat in the House of Representatives for the constituency of West Portland, had said he had accepted the ruling by Chief Justice McCalla that he was ineligible for membership in the legislature because of his citizenship of the United States, which he vigorously sought to maintain.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"(T)here needs to be a thorough review of that section of the Constitution that bars Jamaicans from the legislature if they are by "own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to any foreign power or state".

This, on the face of it, is likely to be in conflict with an attempt at a greater and fuller engagement of Jamaicans in the diaspora, who contribute substantially to the economy and have much more to offer.

Indeed, several countries agree on the need for this flexibility.

However, the law is the law; it ought to be a shackle, establishing the boundaries beyond which the society strays into anarchical and anti-democratic territory.

And the Constitution is the supreme law, setting the contours within which other laws can be set. Selective application of the Constitution, therefore, is potentially ruinous to social and political order."