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Greenidge confirms dual citizenship, awaiting outcome of court challenge

Carl Greenidge

Acknowledging that he has dual citizenship, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge yesterday said he has already engaged his attorneys on this matter and is awaiting the outcome of the recent court action filed by a private citizen.

Compton Reid’s action, which challenges the validity of former parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud’s election as a Member of Parliament (MP) due to his dual citizenship, has raised questions about parliamentarians on both side of the House.

Enquiries made by Stabroek News have revealed that there are a total of seven MPs—four on the government side and three in opposition—who are dual citizens. The two Chief Whips, Amna Ally and Gail Teixeira, are included in this number, sources say…..

 

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VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

FM
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

Why do you think that hyphenated Guyanese are charlatans? Would you  refer to Big Lips as Charlatan?

Mitwah
Last edited by Mitwah
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

Baseman
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

what exactly needs to be "clarified" sir?

the Constitution could not be more CLEAR!

FM
Last edited by Former Member

It may not be a bad idea to retro House voting without dual citizens participation because it may lead to the constitution being thrown out also. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing? Start over from scratch like they did in Germany and Japan. 

FM

If the constitution is so clear why no one challenged that article until now? Well Ram did but the Coalition bais said it is not an issue. Suddenly it is because they are seeking to invalidate a motion.

FM
ronan posted:
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

what exactly needs to be "clarified" sir?

the Constitution could not be more CLEAR!

Well YOU should have advised YOUR PNC that they had ineligible MPs in their midst! How come you missed that?  Remember, this was the same constitution achieved via rigging the 2/3 referendum!

Baseman
Baseman posted:
ronan posted:
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

what exactly needs to be "clarified" sir?

the Constitution could not be more CLEAR!

Well YOU should have advised YOUR PNC that they had ineligible MPs in their midst! How come you missed that?  Remember, this was the same constitution achieved via rigging the 2/3 referendum!

waste talk and shakeabatty

make your case that the Constitution is 'unclear' or shut up!

FM
ronan posted:
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

what exactly needs to be "clarified" sir?

the Constitution could not be more CLEAR!

Perhaps the  Constitution is Unconstitutional.  How many Hyphenated Guyanese voted for its acceptance? Is there a Statute of Limitation to challenge its passage?

Mitwah
ksazma posted:

If the constitution is so clear why no one challenged that article until now? Well Ram did but the Coalition bais said it is not an issue. Suddenly it is because they are seeking to invalidate a motion.

So that 50% raise is illegal and they should be asked to pay back the excess to the treasury.

Mitwah
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

I am just trying to figure out the conundrum we would be in. 

FM
Mitwah posted:
ronan posted:
Baseman posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote. 

No.  If so why stop at the NCV. How about all the bills “illegally” passed?

The rules need to be clarified and augmented by new legislation and applied on a go-forward basis.

what exactly needs to be "clarified" sir?

the Constitution could not be more CLEAR!

Perhaps the  Constitution is Unconstitutional.  How many Hyphenated Guyanese voted for its acceptance? Is there a Statute of Limitation to challenge its passage?

Back then everyone knew it was a fraud because LFSB said the referendum passed with 78  percent. The PPP said they would not accept it...see how t hat turned out.

FM
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote.

unfortunately for you, 106(6) is a peculiarity that requires not a quorum but "the vote of a majority of ALL the elected members of the National Assembly"

FM

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django
Last edited by Django

Carl Greenidge

January 15 2019

Source

Acknowledging that he has dual citizenship, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge yesterday said he has already engaged his attorneys on this matter and is awaiting the outcome of the recent court action filed by a private citizen.

Compton Reid’s action, which challenges the validity of former parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud’s election as a Member of Parliament (MP) due to his dual citizenship, has raised questions about parliamentarians on both side of the House.

Enquiries made by Stabroek News have revealed that there are a total of seven MPs—four on the government side and three in opposition—who are dual citizens. The two Chief Whips, Amna Ally and Gail Teixeira, are included in this number, sources say.

Greenidge, when contacted, told this newspaper that he has UK citizenship, which he acquired after leaving Guyana as a child.

Asked if he is willing to give up that status, he said “for the moment I’ll see what comes out of that [the court matter] but I have in fact been looking at it with the lawyers for some time.”

The minister is the second government MP to admit having such a status. Minister of State Joseph Harmon over the weekend admitted to being a dual citizen, holding both American and Guyanese citizenship but he would not say if he travels on a US passport or if he would give up that citizenship if called upon.

According to Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”

The issue of MPs holding dual citizenship took centre stage once again following the vote by Persaud, then an APNU+AFC parliamentarian, which resulted in the opposition PPP/C’s no confidence motion against government being declared passed on December 21st on a vote of 33 to 32.

Following the vote, Persaud, who has Canadian citizenship, solicited the help of the Canadian High Commission and his close friend Peter Ramsaroop to safely leave the country and left using a Canadian passport.

‘Wrong MP’

When Stabroek News contacted Ally yesterday, she declined to say whether or not she has dual citizenship.

“Why would you call me to ask me that ma’am?” she enquired. When told that this newspaper is checking with MPs on both sides of the House to determine who has such a status, she responded “this is the wrong MP you’re calling.” When pressed, Ally responded, “I am saying this is the wrong MP you are calling. It is not a yes, not a no. Simple English. It is the wrong MP you are calling.”

Asked if there is any government MP who may have such a status, Ally, who is the Social Protection Minister, responded, “I don’t mind people’s business. I don’t know anything about that.”

This newspaper was told that Public Service Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine is the holder of a British passport.

Following Persaud’s vote, Attorney General Basil Williams cited his Canadian citizenship as being among the reasons why his vote was not valid. 

Williams has argued that in keeping with Article 155(1), Persaud was not qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly. He, however, has specified that it is not the owing of allegiance to the foreign State by virtue of being a citizen of that country that is grounds for disqualification from sitting in the National Assembly but rather the “voluntary taking of steps to acknowledge that citizenship that causes the disqualification.”

Opposition MP Anil Nandlall on Sunday called on the APNU+AFC coalition to say what it intends to do about the current situation as it is duplicitous and hypocritical to only zoom in on Persaud’s status.

Nothing to hide

On the opposition side, this newspaper was told that aside from Teixeira, MP Odinga Lumumba has dual citizenship.

Teixeira could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Lumumba expressed uncertainty as to whether he has dual citizenship and assured that he will make enquiries and provide the information later in the week.

“I have to check,” he said.

Asked whether he will give up his foreign citizenship if he does have a status, he said, “I got to talk to my family. I know that the law [says]. The judge ain’t rule…”

He added that he would await the outcome of the court matter, while stressing that he wants to be guided by the law. “I have to check, then I gon’ wait on the law. I have nothing to hide, I will tell you,” he further said before stressing that whether or not an MP has dual citizenship should not be a secret. “I will tell you the truth I can’t hide it,” he said, while noting that the court has to interpret the law and that interpretation will be used as a guide.

Presidential candidate of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman on Saturday announced that he will be giving up his Canadian citizenship to vie for a seat in the National Assembly.

“Because of a firm commitment to making a difference in Guyana and as a parliamentarian who swears to uphold the Constitution of Guyana, my first act cannot be to break the law,” Shuman said during the party’s launch which was held at the Georgetown Club.

He also said that having dual citizenship with the United States is not possible as by swearing allegiance to the US a person would have given up their Guyanese citizenship.

This newspaper was told that of the seven MPs who are dual citizens, four have US citizenship.

When a person is to be a candidate, he or she has to sign a statutory declaration as provided for by the Representation of the People Act. The declaration form, which must be submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), makes no direct reference to dual citizenship. In part, candidates are asked to declare that they are “aware of the provisions of articles 53 and 155 of the constitution with respect to the qualifications and disqualifications for election as a Member of the National Assembly.”

GECOM has distanced itself from the responsibility of determining which candidate has dual citizenship. In fact, an official has explained that that responsibility lies with the candidate as it is him or her who has to make the declaration.

The representative of the APNU+AFC list, Professor Harold Lutchman, in 2015 was adamant that he had no authority to take any action in such instances and that it was a matter to be taken up with the party leaders and for the relevant authorities, including the president, to take action.

In 2011, before Nomination Day, commentator  Christopher Ram wrote to the then Chief Election Officer Gocool Boodoo to highlight this very issue and he cited article 155 of the Constitution.

“I am assuming that the Leader of each Party’s List of candidates for the national elections as well as you in your capacity as Chief Election Officer are not unaware of the clear import and intent of these provisions and in particular Article 155 (1). It is my view that there is a serious obligation on your part to verify that the eligibility requirements are satisfied. You should be aware too that while there might have been breaches in the past, this cannot justify a continuation of an unconstitutional violation in such an important matter,” Ram had stated.

Attorney Rafiq Khan, in a letter published in this newspaper in April, 2015, had made it clear that he was not going to be casting a vote given that the respective lists were replete with persons who hold citizenship in other countries.

“Yet I regret that I will not be exercising that right or duty come May 11, 2015. My reason has nothing to do with the ability or inability of any of the contestants to properly govern the country. My reason is based purely on a matter of principle as I perceive it. I refuse to be an accomplice to or complicit in the perpetuation of what I regard as a constitutional illegality in this country,” he wrote.

He cited cases in Trinidad and Jamaica where the court upheld the constitution, saying that persons holding dual citizenship were disqualified from sitting in the legislative arm.

“For too long many of our laws have been honoured in the breach. It is particularly egregious when persons who, smugly holding aloft in their faith, are going to swear to uphold the Constitution and the laws of Guyana, are themselves in blatant breach of the constitution.   That is hypocrisy,” he said.

Reid, in an urgent fixed date application, has argued that by virtue of his Canadian citizenship, Persaud is a person who, by his own act was under an acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience and adherence to a foreign power and therefore not qualified to be elected a Member of the National Assembly of Guyana and had no legal right to vote as an elected member of the National Assembly of Guyana.

The case will be heard by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire for the first time today.

Django
ronan posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote.

unfortunately for you, 106(6) is a peculiarity that requires not a quorum but "the vote of a majority of ALL the elected members of the National Assembly"

So you advocate an interpretation that minus those not eligible did not mean "all of the elected"  at the time but we have to go back and top up the list to meet the desired number and  re-vote?

FM
D2 posted:
ronan posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote.

unfortunately for you, 106(6) is a peculiarity that requires not a quorum but "the vote of a majority of ALL the elected members of the National Assembly"

So you advocate an interpretation that minus those not eligible did not mean "all of the elected"  at the time but we have to go back and top up the list to meet the desired number and  re-vote?

i am not advocating anything

i am merely highlighting your self-serving nonsense and furnishing facts

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Source

This newspaper was told that of the seven MPs who are dual citizens, four have US citizenship.

When a person is to be a candidate, he or she has to sign a statutory declaration as provided for by the Representation of the People Act. The declaration form, which must be submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), makes no direct reference to dual citizenship. In part, candidates are asked to declare that they are “aware of the provisions of articles 53 and 155 of the constitution with respect to the qualifications and disqualifications for election as a Member of the National Assembly.”

 

All the Dual-Ctizenship MP's LIED when signing the declaration form, and should be sent packing.

Django
Last edited by Django
ronan posted:
D2 posted:
ronan posted:
D2 posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

The NCV should have to be recounted given the government ruling minus the ineligibles and not a re-vote.

unfortunately for you, 106(6) is a peculiarity that requires not a quorum but "the vote of a majority of ALL the elected members of the National Assembly"

So you advocate an interpretation that minus those not eligible did not mean "all of the elected"  at the time but we have to go back and top up the list to meet the desired number and  re-vote?

i am not advocating anything

i am merely highlighting your self-serving nonsense and furnishing facts

Am I not obliged to serve my own curiosity or is there some hold on it the APNU or the PPP has that limits it? The point here is there is a logical conundrum the law would have to twist itself pretzel like to address.  If you are asking for a revote here then a revote on all earlier legislation will have to be taken into account.

You have to follow the law with the same pedantic zeal the APNU has applied here. I do not have to furnish facts beyond the furniture of facts in the room...a vote was taken...an objection filed.

if objection was adjudicated sound by the courts, you have to recount or revote. If a revote here why would a revote not be warranted elsewhere? 

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Article 155 is meant to secure highest form of legislated patriotism, the court’s ruling will be welcomed

January 15 2019

Source

Dear Editor,

One good thing that will come as a result of the confidence vote is the Court’s ruling on Article 155(1)(a) which addresses dual citizens sitting in the National Assembly.  This article expressly states, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power or state.” This article was inserted in the Constitution of Guyana as a result of the Constitutional Reform process of 1999-2000.

For quite some time yours truly, the media and others have been addressing the issue of non-compliance with the article, and society was getting the royal runaround, finger pointing, excuses and denial from the politicians, when culpability exists on both sides of the political divide. Lawmakers (Parliamentarians), including the President who assents to Bills passed by the National Assembly, have the greatest obligation to this nation and its citizens to uphold the Bills they passed, laws assented to, and oaths taken to obey the laws. Laws cannot be cherry-picked, they have to be upheld in their entirety, and disservice is being done to the nation and citizenry when the principal custodians abrogate this duty and responsibility.

Imbalance in political attention and admittance does more harm than good for the society because the Rule of Law is supreme and universal.  It is an incomplete account of the violation on both sides as reflected in the Stabroek News’ report `Harmon’s dual citizenship underlines gov’t hypocrisy- Nandlall’ (14th January 2019). Our journalists should not allow themselves to be preyed on to carry a one-sided story, when it is crucial to the nation at this time and, particularly when we are navigating a matter of national import involving both sides.  And as matter of fact the PPP/C government would have been culpable of violating this article before the coming of Minister Joe Harmon to the National Assembly.

When Anil Nandlall, former PPP/C Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, has taken the route to deceive he must be held to account. He should have admitted his political party is not an innocent bystander nor has it been advocate or enforcer of the extant article. Harmon has come clean, though belatedly, in his admittance. He should not have sat in the House with dual citizenship and must now do the honourable thing.

Nandlall is being deceptive in his claim that the extant article was probably there since independence and all political parties are in violation, which gives the impression that this violation has been happening for more than 50 years. Not true. The constitutional requirement came into effect in 2000. Since then successive PPP/C governments and the Coalition government have been in breach of it. Sitting in the Assembly on the Opposition side when the violation continues to occur, on either or both side(s), doesn’t exonerate the party or its Members.

 

What is being gleaned from Nandlall’s comment is that should the issue of dual citizenship be pursued it will create a serious constitutional crisis that can affect legislation passed during the Coalition and PPP/C governments. If this is how he feels or is thinking, the Court must be asked to adjudicate on this specific aspect, for his opinion is not that of the Court’s and should not be seen as definitive.

Let it be made very clear- we cannot have different standards for the legislators and that for the wider society. For instance, if a man is caught with two grammes of marijuana he will be placed before the court and face the full brunt of the law that deals with the violation of being in possession of this substance. Likewise, if the law states a person, based on constitutional description, cannot sit in the Assembly, he/she who violates same must face the requisite consequence. Society must remain vigilant and ensure the politicians do not now band together and move to invalidate the article because both sides have been found guilty.

This nation is facing a legislative crisis created by those in the National Assembly. When persons with dual citizenship finish milking Guyana and leave, they have recourse and the protection of their adopted country, while we at home have to live and deal with the consequences of their acts and decisions. You cannot serve two masters at the same time, which informed the spirit and intent of the citizenship article. 

Aside from the issues surrounding Charrandass Persaud and the confidence vote, what cannot be denied is that his exit from this country came with the protection of his adopted country. And as he presently resides abroad in some degree of comfort, he has left in his wake a nation tense, further divided, as we seek to navigate the consequences of his action and hold the fabric of nationhood together.

 

The issue of dual citizenship has dire implications for the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, respect for the Constitution and Laws in its entirety, citizens’ rights and freedoms, international terrorism, and the exploiting of our resources to the benefit of Guyana and for all Guyanese.  In light of our territorial challenges, the potential wealth of oil and gas, what is to stop anyone of these persons ‘selling out,’ having the security and protection to leave. It is evident that many Guyanese can be easily bought given the corruption level in government and by public officials. Having only Guyanese citizenship means any untoward conduct, using the people’s power in the legislature or executive, the person is guaranteed the protection of local laws. This is not too much to ask or expect if one is offering him or herself for leadership at this level. 

We are a small, venerable nation, awash with natural resources. Article 155 ‘Disqualifications for election as members,’ plays a pivotal role in safeguarding us, at the Executive and Legislative levels, from being exploited by foreign forces, whose desire to influence and mould our destiny have never been extinguished.  History has shown such attempts were underpinned by a divide-and-rule policy that has rent us asunder and our collective well-being and development hindered for far too long. We must no longer trifle with this serious issue for such a policy continues to carry dire consequences for race, race relations, class and other diversity. 

Article 155 is meant to prove and secure the highest form of legislated patriotism. It is not that persons of dual citizenship are not considered important or valued for their skills nor cannot serve Guyana at any other level or in any other form, but the Constitution stipulates restrictions to be elected and serve as President and parliamentarian. It augurs well to secure the integrity of nation-building and nationhood giving due respect.

The National Assembly has not been properly seated since 2000 when the provision was assented to. Seeking the Court’s intervention allows the nation to settle this matter once and for all.

 

Yours faithfully,

Lincoln Lewis

Django

Source

One good thing that will come as a result of the confidence vote is the Court’s ruling on Article 155(1)(a) which addresses dual citizens sitting in the National Assembly.  This article expressly states, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power or state.”

This article was inserted in the Constitution of Guyana as a result of the Constitutional Reform process of 1999-2000.

Imbalance in political attention and admittance does more harm than good for the society because the Rule of Law is supreme and universal.  It is an incomplete account of the violation on both sides as reflected in the Stabroek News’ report `Harmon’s dual citizenship underlines gov’t hypocrisy- Nandlall’ (14th January 2019). Our journalists should not allow themselves to be preyed on to carry a one-sided story, when it is crucial to the nation at this time and, particularly when we are navigating a matter of national import involving both sides.  And as matter of fact the PPP/C government would have been culpable of violating this article before the coming of Minister Joe Harmon to the National Assembly. 

 

The PPP are also culprits, including Nandlall, former AG , members of their party were allowed to sit in the National Assembly.

Django
Last edited by Django
Mitwah posted:
VishMahabir posted:

If I recall...this was RONAN's choice for President....no?

We still need to know who the 1/3 parliamentarians are.....and change the Constitution

Why do you think that hyphenated Guyanese are charlatans? Would you  refer to Big Lips as Charlatan?

Because they present themselves as the patriotic defenders of Guyana who uphold a moral right to govern...because they keep this "dual loyalty" hidden from the public view and because they hypocritically condemn others for violating the law, knowing fully well that they are also guilty. These are not simply people who were elected to office, but they make laws that affect the lives of every Guyanese citizen.

Additionally, dual citizenry implies that you swore allegiance to more than one country at the same time. Except for such counties like Israel, which allocate citizenship to all Jews, Guyana has explicit laws in the Constitution. I know the US also has specific laws forbidding an American citizen from holding dual citizenship. What if Greenidge is placed in a situation where he has to make a decision that impacts the two countries to which he is a party...how do we judge whether the desicion is made in good faith, and in the best interest of the Guyanese people....this will raise question, even if he believes he is acting in the best interest of Guyanese.

They are charlatans because they believe they could pull this one over the Guyanese people...if there was no Charandass and no court case, we would not have known about Greenidge, Harmon, and others...

As for Big Lipppps, he is in a category of his own ..he might be an illegal immigrant from Mexico....

 

 

V
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django,

when I look at SN, they only show what I posted, not the whole article...granted that this might not show all the information. Some articles are generally in full, but not all of them.

I do not have an account with any of these Guyana newspapers, so I am assuming that you have to pay and register to get the full articles.

V
Django posted:

Source

One good thing that will come as a result of the confidence vote is the Court’s ruling on Article 155(1)(a) which addresses dual citizens sitting in the National Assembly.  This article expressly states, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power or state.”

This article was inserted in the Constitution of Guyana as a result of the Constitutional Reform process of 1999-2000.

Imbalance in political attention and admittance does more harm than good for the society because the Rule of Law is supreme and universal.  It is an incomplete account of the violation on both sides as reflected in the Stabroek News’ report `Harmon’s dual citizenship underlines gov’t hypocrisy- Nandlall’ (14th January 2019). Our journalists should not allow themselves to be preyed on to carry a one-sided story, when it is crucial to the nation at this time and, particularly when we are navigating a matter of national import involving both sides.  And as matter of fact the PPP/C government would have been culpable of violating this article before the coming of Minister Joe Harmon to the National Assembly. 

 

The PPP are the culprits, including Nandlall, former AG , members of their party were allowed to sit in the National Assembly.

Leslie Ramsammy has US citizenship and held posts in the PPP gov among quite a few others. They alone are not the hypocrites since it took a super-majority to pass these rules. These fellows worked together to create these road blocks to dual citizens.

FM
Last edited by Former Member
VishMahabir posted:
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django,

when I look at SN, they only show what I posted, not the whole article...granted that this might not show all the information. Some articles are generally in full, but not all of them.

I do not have an account with any of these Guyana newspapers, so I am assuming that you have to pay and register to get the full articles.

Subscription required for full articles from Stabroek News, cost US$100 yrly, paid quarterly.

Django
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Point taken....see my post below...

However, I am more concerned about those government officials who currently hold...though not to exclude others.

Texiera, I have read, holds Canadian citizenship (see Kissoon's article in KN today)...that should rule her out as a PPP candidate....I am told Anil and Irfaan might also hold dual citizenship (also Khemraj and Moses)...we will have to wait ans see...

V

If citizenship case succeeds it means all budgets, bills passed since 2015 unlawful

Source

January 15 2019

Dear Editor,

On the 21 December 2018, the APNU+AFC Coalition Government was defeated by a No Confidence Motion moved by the Opposition, PPP/C in the National Assembly. The Government is refusing to resign and fix a date for National & Regional Elections which they are bound to do under the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Guyana.

Instead, they have decided to challenge the validity of the vote cast in favour of the motion by one of their own, Charrandass Persaud, on the grounds of his dual citizenship to Canada, and that 33 votes do not constitute the majority required to pass such a motion.

The matter is pending in the High Court. Therefore, I will refrain from commenting on the issues of law involved but will address the lack of political morality so vital to democratic politics which underlies the legal challenges. I will deal with the dual citizenship argument in this article. In another, I will address the 33 votes majority contention.

The provision in the Constitution which prohibits a person who swore allegiance to a foreign state from becoming a Member of Parliament, has been in the Constitution, possibly, since Independence. However, over the years, every political party has deliberately turned a blind eye to it and persons with dual citizenship have always been extracted from the lists of political parties and permitted to sit in the National Assembly without objections from anyone. Of course, this includes the 11th Parliament of Guyana, which has such persons on both sides of the political aisle.

Charrandass Persaud is one of such persons. His name was placed on their list by the APNU+AFC and extracted from that list to sit in the National Assembly by the APNU+AFC. It must be assumed that they knew or ought to have known of his citizenship of Canada and the constitutional implications. Following  the 2015 elections, they have used Persaud’s vote to pass every budget and every piece of legislation since, including the 2019 budget, which was passed in a matter of days prior to the No-Confidence Motion.

Indeed, from all their public pronouncements prior to and during the debate of the No-Confidence Motion, it was abundantly clear that they were relying on Persaud’s vote to pass the very Motion. However, now that Persaud has voted against them, they now want to denounce the validity of that vote by relying on that provision of the Constitution in an attempt to disqualify him from being a member on the ground of his dual citizenship. So, having agreed to the rules of the game, when they lose, they are refusing to accept the results by questioning the very rules by which they agreed to be bound. This is not only duplicity and political hypocrisy at its worst, but it destroys the possibility of any political force, or indeed anyone, being able to genuinely trust and have any lasting political relationship or alliance of any type with APNU+AFC. It demonstrates their willingness to do anything and everything possible, regardless of its consequences to the welfare of our people and the national interest, to satisfy their thirst for political power.

I must emphasize that if they succeed, it means that all the budgets passed since 2015 to now and all the Bills passed, were unlawful. The implications and consequences of this on the nation are both irreversible and immeasurable. But they seem not to care!

However, this is not a new ploy for the PNC. They have an undisputable track record of doing anything possible to keep political power. Their years of rigging elections, before 1992, their refusal to accept the results of elections certified to be free and fair, post 1992, their agreement to the use of a voter ID card for the 1997 elections and then challenging the legal validity of those elections on the ground of the use of that very ID card, all exemplify this ploy as a permanent part of their political modus operandi.

The fact that the legal challenge is being brought in the name of a citizen and not in the name of the main political architects fools no one. The Attorney General is on record boasting about his and the Government’s role in these proceedings. In any event, the legal challenge to the 1997 elections was also done by a citizen at the instance of the PNC. So this is not new either.

Fortunately, this time around I do not think they will succeed for the law is not on their side.

Yours faithfully,

Anil Nandlall

PPP/C MP


 

Nandlall, should realize the law is the law. The law is not ass, his own words.

Django
Django posted:
VishMahabir posted:
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django,

when I look at SN, they only show what I posted, not the whole article...granted that this might not show all the information. Some articles are generally in full, but not all of them.

I do not have an account with any of these Guyana newspapers, so I am assuming that you have to pay and register to get the full articles.

Subscription required for full articles from Stabroek News, cost US$100 yrly, paid quarterly.

Take the freken US$100. and donate to a worthy cause. 

FM
ronan posted:
Django posted:

Nandlall, should realize the law is the law. The law is not ass, his own words.

in his own words, he thinks this is a "game"

That's how he rolls, although we are jine family, wouldn't agree with him when he goofs up.

Django
Dave posted:
Django posted:
VishMahabir posted:
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django,

when I look at SN, they only show what I posted, not the whole article...granted that this might not show all the information. Some articles are generally in full, but not all of them.

I do not have an account with any of these Guyana newspapers, so I am assuming that you have to pay and register to get the full articles.

Subscription required for full articles from Stabroek News, cost US$100 yrly, paid quarterly.

Take the freken US$100. and donate to a worthy cause. 

How do you expect, i should be fair ?  have to get info from all media sources from the homeland.

Django
Django posted:

If citizenship case succeeds it means all budgets, bills passed since 2015 unlawful

Source

January 15 2019

Dear Editor,

On the 21 December 2018, the APNU+AFC Coalition Government was defeated by a No Confidence Motion moved by the Opposition, PPP/C in the National Assembly. The Government is refusing to resign and fix a date for National & Regional Elections which they are bound to do under the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Guyana.

Instead, they have decided to challenge the validity of the vote cast in favour of the motion by one of their own, Charrandass Persaud, on the grounds of his dual citizenship to Canada, and that 33 votes do not constitute the majority required to pass such a motion.

The matter is pending in the High Court. Therefore, I will refrain from commenting on the issues of law involved but will address the lack of political morality so vital to democratic politics which underlies the legal challenges. I will deal with the dual citizenship argument in this article. In another, I will address the 33 votes majority contention.

The provision in the Constitution which prohibits a person who swore allegiance to a foreign state from becoming a Member of Parliament, has been in the Constitution, possibly, since Independence. However, over the years, every political party has deliberately turned a blind eye to it and persons with dual citizenship have always been extracted from the lists of political parties and permitted to sit in the National Assembly without objections from anyone. Of course, this includes the 11th Parliament of Guyana, which has such persons on both sides of the political aisle.

Charrandass Persaud is one of such persons. His name was placed on their list by the APNU+AFC and extracted from that list to sit in the National Assembly by the APNU+AFC. It must be assumed that they knew or ought to have known of his citizenship of Canada and the constitutional implications. Following  the 2015 elections, they have used Persaud’s vote to pass every budget and every piece of legislation since, including the 2019 budget, which was passed in a matter of days prior to the No-Confidence Motion.

Indeed, from all their public pronouncements prior to and during the debate of the No-Confidence Motion, it was abundantly clear that they were relying on Persaud’s vote to pass the very Motion. However, now that Persaud has voted against them, they now want to denounce the validity of that vote by relying on that provision of the Constitution in an attempt to disqualify him from being a member on the ground of his dual citizenship. So, having agreed to the rules of the game, when they lose, they are refusing to accept the results by questioning the very rules by which they agreed to be bound. This is not only duplicity and political hypocrisy at its worst, but it destroys the possibility of any political force, or indeed anyone, being able to genuinely trust and have any lasting political relationship or alliance of any type with APNU+AFC. It demonstrates their willingness to do anything and everything possible, regardless of its consequences to the welfare of our people and the national interest, to satisfy their thirst for political power.

I must emphasize that if they succeed, it means that all the budgets passed since 2015 to now and all the Bills passed, were unlawful. The implications and consequences of this on the nation are both irreversible and immeasurable. But they seem not to care!

However, this is not a new ploy for the PNC. They have an undisputable track record of doing anything possible to keep political power. Their years of rigging elections, before 1992, their refusal to accept the results of elections certified to be free and fair, post 1992, their agreement to the use of a voter ID card for the 1997 elections and then challenging the legal validity of those elections on the ground of the use of that very ID card, all exemplify this ploy as a permanent part of their political modus operandi.

The fact that the legal challenge is being brought in the name of a citizen and not in the name of the main political architects fools no one. The Attorney General is on record boasting about his and the Government’s role in these proceedings. In any event, the legal challenge to the 1997 elections was also done by a citizen at the instance of the PNC. So this is not new either.

Fortunately, this time around I do not think they will succeed for the law is not on their side.

Yours faithfully,

Anil Nandlall

PPP/C MP


 

Nandlall, should realize the law is the law. The law is not ass, his own words.

Bai, you sound as if you can interpret Guyana's laws better than a former AG of Guyana. The man is addressing the hypocrisy of your PNC; not the law. Are they all dunces in parliament? It was ok to take the dual citizens money to campaign and put them in high positions. Now the law caught up with them, they squeal like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
 

Bai, you sound as if you can interpret Guyana's laws better than a former AG of Guyana. The man is addressing the hypocrisy of your PNC; not the law. Are they all dunces in parliament? It was ok to take the dual citizens money to campaign and put them in high positions. Now the law caught up with them, they squeal like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.

I can read well and have a clear understanding what is written, interpreting is not a difficulty. Try goofing up in the field of Electronics Sciences, the results can be catastrophic.

Read Lincoln Lewis, letter and come again.

Django
Last edited by Django
Django posted:
Dave posted:
Django posted:
VishMahabir posted:
Django posted:

@VishMahabir

Why post half baked article with no source, you saw Carl Greenidge mentioned and got int a frenzy. For a few days SN news  headlines focus on the Dual-Citizenship on APNU-AFC MP's, digging deeper in their articles, PPP MP's are mentioned, the honorable  Gail Teixeira also is a Dual-Citizen and a few others from the party.

next post is full article

Django,

when I look at SN, they only show what I posted, not the whole article...granted that this might not show all the information. Some articles are generally in full, but not all of them.

I do not have an account with any of these Guyana newspapers, so I am assuming that you have to pay and register to get the full articles.

Subscription required for full articles from Stabroek News, cost US$100 yrly, paid quarterly.

Take the freken US$100. and donate to a worthy cause. 

How do you expect, i should be fair ?  have to get info from all media sources from the homeland.

The Guyanese electorate, politicians and media don’t give a rat arss about ayo  foreigner .

For over a month ayo gotta one story cause ayo find a loop hole and the same constitution PNC, PPP and APNU-AFC used .  

The constitution forbids your views as a US citizens cause you are not a Guyanese citizen anymore  

FM
skeldon_man posted:
 

Nandlall, should realize the law is the law. The law is not ass, his own words.

Bai, you sound as if you can interpret Guyana's laws better than a former AG of Guyana. The man is addressing the hypocrisy of your PNC; not the law. Are they all dunces in parliament? It was ok to take the dual citizens money to campaign and put them in high positions. Now the law caught up with them, they squeal like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.

The PPP added this to the constitution with the aid of the APNU The PPP did not follow it nor did the APNU

FM
Django posted:
skeldon_man posted:
 

Bai, you sound as if you can interpret Guyana's laws better than a former AG of Guyana. The man is addressing the hypocrisy of your PNC; not the law. Are they all dunces in parliament? It was ok to take the dual citizens money to campaign and put them in high positions. Now the law caught up with them, they squeal like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.

Read LIncoln Lewis, letter and come again.

I did not see Lincoln Lewis' name in the above article. Lincoln Lewis is on another thread. Let's stick to this one.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
Django posted:
skeldon_man posted:
 

Bai, you sound as if you can interpret Guyana's laws better than a former AG of Guyana. The man is addressing the hypocrisy of your PNC; not the law. Are they all dunces in parliament? It was ok to take the dual citizens money to campaign and put them in high positions. Now the law caught up with them, they squeal like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.

Read LIncoln Lewis, letter and come again.

I did not see Lincoln Lewis' name in the above article. Lincoln Lewis is on another thread. Let's stick to this one.

Lincoln letter posted, here on this thread, go back a few post before Anil's letter.

Django

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