Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

VAZ

Member of Parliament for West Portland Daryl Vaz is to remain in Parliament until the Court of Appeal makes a determination in the dual citizenship case between him and Abe Dabdoub.

A by-election will not be held in the constituency until the appeals have been heard.

It is expected that the appeals will be heard before the end of this year.

President of the Court of Appeal Seymour Panton yesterday granted a stay of execution of Chief Justice Zaila McCalla's ruling on April 11. The chief justice had granted a 42-day stay to Vaz and Dabdoub, the People's National Party candidate who had brought the election petition, which resulted in Vaz being ousted from Parliament.

Both sides seeking a stay

Justice Panton, in granting the stay, said that from the documents filed, it seemed both sides were seeking a stay of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal. He said, in the circumstances, the judgment was stayed, pending the determination of the appeals. He pointed out that the stay was, in effect, an extension of the stay granted by the chief justice.

The chief justice ordered a by-election but Dabdoub, in his grounds of appeal, is seeking to be returned as the duly elected candidate for the constituency in the general election on September 3 last year.

Vaz was disqualified on the basis that he was the holder of a United States passport and by virtue of travelling on it and renewing it, he had pledged allegiance to a foreign power, which was in breach of the Constitution.

Vaz filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal on May 15, a day after Dabdoub filed an appeal with a view to getting the court to award him the seat.

Vaz has filed several grounds of appeal, one of which is that the chief justice erred when she ruled that on nomination day, August 7, last year, he was not qualified to be elected to the House of Representatives.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com