BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, December, 9th 2009 (The Labour Party Secretariat) - Leadership is too important in this country to be left up to the uncommitted.
This was the view expressed by a Young Labour leader and voter, Keisha Archibald while addressing a large crowd of party supporters at a public meeting in Crab Hill, Sandy Point on Sunday night (Dec. 6).
Using the Constitution to support her argument, she outlined that Section 28 1(a) expresses very clearly that a person shall not be qualified to be elected or appointed as a member of Parliament if he is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.
She was referring specifically to the case of the leader and deputy leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), Lindsay Grant and Shawn Richards, who have both come under fire for holding citizenship with both the United States of America (USA) and St.Kitts/Nevis (dualcitizenship).
At a press conference held back in July of this year, both Grant and Richards said their oath of renunciation was taken in Barbados at the US Embassy there on June 30th, 2009.
Presently, questions surround the credibility on whether or not both Grant and Richards have actually renounced their citizenship with the USA.
At a press briefing held later, media workers were invited to see proof of Grant’s certificate of renunciation.
However speculation came about when a copy of the certificate was revealed and not the original one itself. Additionally, Grant refused to allow his papers to be examined by the public including press members.
As reported by Archibald, based on various exercises commissioned by the Labour Party Secretariat earlier this year, the young people made it clear that their leaders ought to be honest, respectful, intelligent and or educated among other qualities, with the most frequently expressed quality being that of loyalty.
She emphasized that a leader must always demonstrate absolute loyalty to his or her followers or an unwavering commitment to a people or a cause.
Loyalty, she explained using dictionary gist is showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.
Archibald continued: “The framers of our Constitution made the conscious decision of having this point expressed in our most important legal document. They understood all too well the lingering threat of colonialism, slavery and imperialism. They understood that the only way to protect a state in its infant stages of democracy and self governance was to ensure that the people who choose to serve in the most honorable house of the land originate from among the masses and of the people.”
The National Assembly Elections Amendment Bill, 2009 indicates that ‘any candidate before nomination, takes an oath to the effect that he or she does not hold dual citizenship; and if he or she held dual citizenship, should produce proof that he or she renounced the other citizenship since the holding of the previous elections.’
The Young Labour Movement member believes that this law is good.
“It is a good law especially as we analyze the state of affairs in the countries around the world such as Jamaica and Australia who have been adversely affected by the absence of such a provision in their own legal instruments,” she said.
Archibald went on to say, “To this end, we the people should not have to endure the rigors of a bi-election after what has clearly been a lengthy election season. This law therefore seeks to eliminate such an occurrence as well as any time spent in court proving that an individual is not fit to sit in parliament because he is in breach of this very important provision.”
