LEADER of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo has said that PPP parliamentarians who hold dual citizenship will not return to the National Assembly and will be replaced.

Amidst fallout over parliamentarians holding dual citizenship here, Jagdeo had confirmed that Adrian Anamaya and Party Stalwart, Gail Teixeira have dual citizenship. Other sources have confirmed that Odinga Lumumba also holds dual citizenship.

Although the opposition leader was adamant that his members have no intention of returning to the National Assembly for now, he said those Members of Parliament (MPs) would be replaced if need be. “We will not return to the National Assembly unless it concerns elections,” said Jagdeo during a press briefing on Thursday.

The contention concerning persons with dual citizenship in the National Assembly surfaced after former government MP, Charrandas Persaud voted in favour of a no-confidence motion which was tabled by the opposition and passed in the National Assembly.

Compton  Reid, a New Amsterdam farmer, challenged the validity of the vote cast by Persaud in the National Assembly on the basis that he breached Article 155 of the constitution which bars Members of Parliament from having dual citizenship.

Although Chief Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire ruled that Persaud’s vote was valid, she said it was unconstitutional for him to have been selected as a candidate and a parliamentarian.

Retired judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Duke Pollard, had said that the National Assembly should be cleared of all MPs with dual citizenship.

Justice Pollard had said there should be a thorough sweep of the National Assembly to rid the Parliament of all MPs with dual citizenship. Professor Pollard emphasised that the constitution must be respected by all. “This is not any kind of partisan approach; it is an approach by anyone who is committed to transparency and good governance,” he urged.
In addition to the PPP/C, the AFC had said of its 11 MPs: “Ten of the party’s MPs are citizens of Guyana only. The other MP, Mr. Dominic Gaskin, was born in the United Kingdom but is a citizen of Guyana by descent.”

The issue of renouncing citizenship does not apply to Guyanese who were born in another country,” the AFC said. It is of the opinion that Minister Gaskin, constitutionally, sits as a duly elected MP without any hindrance or issue.