PAM top two say goodbye to dual citizenship

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE top two officials of the Federation’s largest opposition party People’s Action Movement (PAM) announced yesterday (July 1) that they have renounced their United States (US) citizenship in preparation for the impending General Election.

Leader of the party Lindsay Grant and Deputy Leader Hon. Shawn Richards revealed yesterday during the party’s monthly press conferences that on Tuesday, June 30 the Oath of Renunciation was taken at the US Embassy in Barbados and their conflicting citizenship was relinquished.  

Candidates from both political parties, St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) and PAM, were brought under heavy scrutiny when it became known that party members were holders of dual citizenships, although the Federation’s Constitution states that naturalised citizens of foreign jurisdictions are debarred from sitting in the Federal Parliament. 

Grant told SKNVibes that when he contested in the 2004 General Election, he was unaware of the guiding principle within the Constitution, adding that the issue came to the forefront following a number of similar cases around the Caribbean. 

The PAM Leader claims he has only been in the US for about 18 months for his post graduate degree, but stated that due to his commitment to the nation, he found it an opportune time to renounce his US allegiance.

“I likewise travelled to Barbados and took the oath of renunciation before the US Embassy. It is ‘Country Above Self’. I am committed to the people of St. Kitts-Nevis in the long haul. That act in itself indicates that there is closure to that matter,” he said.
Grant said the decision was not only one for his party but was also a personal one. He added that although many would not have given up their US rights, his renunciation proves his commitment to the country of his birth.

“I was very much committed to renunciation a long time ago but, obviously, it is a personal and family decision which one has to make. I am pretty certain that many of the persons who have been making statements on the issue would not have undertaken that oath by the Hon. Shawn Richards and myself,” he said. “I’m committed to developing this country and I am glad that I have been able to do it at this moment and to show the electorate that I am committed to the country that I am seeking to serve,” Grant concluded.

Grant also told SKNVibes that, to his knowledge, there are no more members of his party with dual citizenship and that he is pleased that the matter has been finally “laid to rest”.