Golding's position as Opposition Leader 'untenable' in light of British citizenship - Holness

By Nakinskie Robinson/Kimone Witter    

 

Despite its legality, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Mark Golding's position as Opposition Leader is untenable, in light of his British citizenship.

 

Prime Minister Holness, who was speaking with the media on Monday, argued that if Mr. Golding is to serve as the country's highest leader or even the Opposition Leader, he must pledge sole loyalty to Jamaica.

 

He contended that his government supports members of the diaspora being a part of the Parliament, however, the line should be drawn once an individual seeks to become the head of government.

 

There have been questions regarding Mr. Golding's citizenship, mainly from the Jamaica Labour Party, since his recent suggestion that the constitutional reform process should reconsider the current rule that bars certain dual citizens from sitting in the Jamaican Parliament.

 

Over the weekend, Mr. Golding indicated that he holds both Jamaican and British citizenship by way of inheritance.

 

Jamaica's current Constitution states that a dual citizen of the Commonwealth - of which Britiain is a part - can serve in the Parliament.

 

But in a post on X, the Opposition Leader on Monday afternoon hit back at Prime Minister Holness, accusing him of loosely crafting policies to promote his party's agenda. 

 

"Neither he nor his party has made those proposals as part of the process of constitutional reform. His proposals are therefore not in the report of the Constitutional Reform Committee and will not be in the new Constitution coming out of that process. Furthermore, Mr. Holness's proposals this morning are not in the existing Constitution and would violate the existing Constitution."

 

Arguing that the position of Mr. Holness "is in keeping with his and his government's unfortunate history of past violations of the Constitution of Jamaica", the Opposition Leader suggested the Prime Minister wanted to "make up a rule which is not part of the constitutional laws of Jamaica to suit his party's political fortune at a time when it is waning". 

 

Mr. Golding also sought to shift the focus to the Prime Minister's statutory declarations which remain unverified.

 

 

Political commentator Damion Gordon does not believe the inheritance of citizenship in a foreign country should bar any Jamaican from becoming the head of Government.

 

Mr. Gordon argued that to do so would be discriminatory.

 

"If an individual who is born in Jamaica, has lived in Jamaica their entire life, is disqualified from being a prime minister simply because they have inherited citizenship from a foreign country from their parent, wouldn't you consider that to be a little bit discriminatory? Considering the fact that the person is a Jamaican citizen, born and raised, I think that kind of...purview is not progressive and it limits our pool of available talent as well," he suggested. 

 

Mr. Gordon was speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.

 

Dual citizenship discussions have again arisen since Opposition Leader Mark Golding recommended that the Constitutional Reform Committee consider that Jamaicans who hold citizenship for non-Commonwealth countries should be allowed to seek political office.