Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

KARL SAMUDA, general secretary of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), believes the time has come to revisit the constitutional provision that prohibits persons who have sworn allegiance or obedience to a foreign power from being members of the legislature.

"It requires serious study and consideration and it is my view that perhaps the time has come to look at it with a view to making the appropriate amendments," Samuda says.

Adds Peter Bunting, general secretary of the Opposition People's National Party: "We have a constitution. If we don't like provisions in it, let us all get together and agree to change it."

Landmark ruling

Their comments come in the wake of a landmark ruling on Friday by Chief Justice Zaila McCalla in the Dabdoub vs Vaz case. Abe Dabdoub, a defeated People's National Party candidate in the September 2007 general election, had contended that the JLP's Daryl Vaz had an American passport and should be disqualified from being an MP. Vaz had won the West Portland seat on election night, beating Dabdoub by 933 votes. Although Vaz successfully argued that he acquired citizenship through his mother, McCalla said that the act of acquiring, travelling and renewing the US passport was an act of allegiance.

"I hold further that by his positive acts of renewing and travelling on his United States passport, the first respondent (Vaz) has, by virtue of his own act, acknowledge his allegiance, obedience or adherence to the United States of America," the chief justice ruled. She also said that Vaz was not qualified to be elected to the House of Representatives on nomination day.

Reacting to the ruling, Samuda points out that Western Hanover PNP MP, Ian Hayles, is in a similar position as Vaz. Samuda, however, did not indicate whether the JLP would move to unseat him.

Domino effect

"Ian Hayles, by his own admission, has indicated that at the time he was nominated, he was still an American citizen, which in and of itself implies that the same situation that obtains with Daryl Vaz applies to him," Samuda says. He is of the view that this aspect of the ruling not only affects Vaz but Hayles and other MPs.

PNP General Secretary Peter Bunting says that the most important thing about the ruling was to establish the principle. Speaking specifically about Hayles, Bunting says: "He took the decision that he would renounce his dual citizenship before running as a candidate in the general election."

Hayles had applied to renounce his citizenship before nomination day (August 7, 2007), but it was not approved until after the election.

"The matter of Hayles is one that has to be discussed. I would not pre-empt or suggest a time frame or whether it is something that will be acted upon, but in my own view, it is something that needs to be addressed," Samuda says.

He adds: "As I understand it, there are others in the People's National Party, who are in Parliament, who come under those same provisions. If one goes by the ruling, it compromises the whole Parliament and the Constitution. It is something that has to be looked at."

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com