Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 20, 2018 (SKNIS): A special airing on ZIZ TV (Channel 5 in St. Kitts and 98 in Nevis) of the National Assembly Elections Amendment Bill 2009 tabled in Parliament on July 03, 2009, by now Leader of the Opposition and Former Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, will take place on Tuesday, March 20 at 8:00 pm and Wednesday, March 21 at 10:00 am.
In his presentation on the Amendment Bill, Dr. Douglas passionately defended the Constitution where Members of Parliament (elected and appointed), who hold dual citizenship, are disqualified from representing the people in Parliament.
The St. Kitts and Nevis’ Leader of the Opposition and Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Six, now has finally admitted in a sworn affidavit filed in the High Court Registry on February 21, 2018, that he filled out an application form and was issued with a diplomatic passport of the Commonwealth of Dominica, which he has used to travel.
Section 28 (1) of the Constitution of St. Christopher and Nevis and Section Six (6) of the National Assemblies Act both provide that “a person shall not be qualified to be elected or appointed as a member if he is by virtue of his own act under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”
The Government has now challenged the Leader of the Opposition in courtregarding his eligibility to serve as a Member of Parliament while being the holder of a diplomatic passport of the Commonwealth of Dominica, which identifies his nationality as Dominican.
The case management directions envisage that the next time Dr. Douglas appears in court on this matter will be April 20, 2018.
