Dear editor,

THE dual citizenship debate has raised its head in Guyana once again inevitably bringing up questions of divided loyalties and allegiance.
Guyana allows dual citizenship, but it stripped dual citizens of the right to sit as MPs — something that’s available to all other law-abiding adult citizens
Albeit dual citizenship can potentially create multiple loyalties, when someone has to make a choice, he/she can also prioritise one’s country of birth, present residence and high-level political involvement over the country where one is merely a naturalised, non-resident or ordinary citizen.
Dual citizenship has rapidly increased all over the world in the past decades. About half of all sovereign states in the world nowadays tolerate or even accept multiple nationalities for various reasons.

It is certainly no coincidence that many countries (including Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) with common origins and legal systems to those of Guyana do not, or no longer, prohibit dual nationals from serving in their national legislatures.
For example, while Guyana bars dual nationals with US citizenship or other non-Commonwealth citizenship from sitting in Parliament, the USA does not. In fact, there are Congressional representatives who are citizens of the USA and Israel for example. Well liked former British parliamentarian, the late Bernie Grant, was born in Guyana and was never required to renounce his Guyanese citizenship.

For individual dual nationals, effectively renouncing foreign citizenship in order to stand as a parliamentary candidate should not be one of the necessary sacrifices required of those who seek, or even merely attempt, to serve as a representative in Guyana’s Parliament.

The laws that imply that allegiance to the state must be single and undivided are now outdated and compels a review. The potential minor risks about allegiance associated with dual citizens do not justify preemptive, lifetime and group-wide bans. Albeit unlikely; the way the constitution is interpreted right now, one might argue that Nicolas Maduro could permanently paralyse the Guyana Government by unilaterally conferring Venezuelan citizenship on all Guyanese Parliamentarians.
With globalisation, dual citizenship is becoming more common and beneficial for not only the individuals but also the countries involved and Guyana should join the trend more prominently.

Having dual citizenship does not make a person any less loyal to their country of birth. It’s time to review this aspect of our laws.

Sincerely,
Kirk Hollingsworth